Tree and Infancy
by cyberimp6
Summary: Ayeka must make a sacrifice to regrow her Royal Tree.
1. Chapter 1

Disclaimer: Characters and concepts from "Tenchi Muyo!" were created by Kajishima Masaki and Hitoshi Okuda, and are Copyright AIC and Pioneer LDC. This work is a parody and not to be used for any commercial purposes.

Foreword: This story is based on some of the ideas in the "Tenchi Muyo!" manga, especially "Mother Planet".

**Tree and Infancy**

"All right, here goes." Ayeka's voice showed signs of nervousness. "I hope you're doing well today, Ryu-Oh. Washu and I are getting worried that you're not growing. The air in here is very pleasant, the water is pure, and the soil is just like the soil on Jurai, so that can't be it. We all want you to get bigger soon. Even Ryo-Ohki is anxious to fly with you, when you have a ship built around you again."

"I'm sure she is, Princess Ayeka." Tsunami's voice sounded from behind her.

"Lady Tsunami!" Ayeka let out a startled yelp as she turned around. Was there anything more embarrassing than being caught by a goddess, talking to a plant? Oh, yes--when the goddess was going to be your sister someday. "I ... ah ... you see, many people on this planet believe that talking to plants helps them grow, and Lady Washu said it couldn't hurt . . ."

"You already have your bond with Ryu-Oh," Tsunami gently pointed out, "so I'm afraid talking aloud will give no additional help."

Ayeka looked back at Ryu-Oh. The royal tree was still no more than a sprout poking through the soil, in spite of the time that had passed since the princess had planted the seed in the spacious unit inside Washu's lab. "If I may ask, Lady Tsunami, am I doing something wrong? Was it a mistake to use the unit that Kagato created after all?"

The goddess looked somber. The interior of the unit was a masterpiece of design, but she well remembered that it had originally been built to imprison the aspect of herself that was the First Tree. However, there were no hidden traps, and the fact that the unit's walls were exceptionally strong was now all to the good. "No, Princess Ayeka. I believe I know what the source of the trouble is. It can be resolved, but it will not be easy. I have come to ask if you are willing to bear the burden."

"What must I do, Lady Tsunami?" Ayeka tried to keep the anxiety out of her voice.

"That, I cannot tell you directly. You must trust me." Tsunami answered. "This is your choice, Princess Ayeka. I can well understand if you decline."

Now Ayeka was sure that a major sacrifice was at hand. But she was responsible for taking Ryu-Oh into battle against the Souja, which had resulted in the need to re-grow her royal tree. She bowed her head. "I trust you, Lady Tsunami."

------

Washu was busy entering data into her holographic keyboard when an unfamiliar voice came from the archway off to her left.

"Scuse me . . . Lady Washu?"

The pint-sized genius swiveled around in alarm. Could there be another Mihoshi, able to just walk into her lab? At first, she saw no one. Then her gaze went down, and there was a little girl peeping through the archway, wrapped in torn but expensive-looking cloth. For a moment Washu thought it might be Sasami, because the girl's hair was almost the same shade of light blue. But this girl looked to be only four years old, and her voice sounded like it as well.

"Who are you, little girl, and how did you get in here?" Washu asked.

"It's me, Lady Washu," answered the girl, "I'm Ayeka."

"Ayeka?" Washu stared in disbelief for a moment. Then she remembered that Ayeka had changed the color of her hair with a gene conversion, years ago. "What in the galaxy happened to you?"

"Lady Tsunami t'ansfoamed -- uh, changed me. She said it was to help Ryu-Oh grow, but that was all she 'splained -- I mean all she would explain." Ayeka said, having to make an effort to pronounce the words clearly. "And then she whooshed away-- I mean she disappeared."

"I see." Washu looked intrigued. "And your clothes didn't fit your new body?"

"Uh-huh." Ayeka nodded. "And my tear -- my ti-ar-a didn't fit, too. So can we use your t'ansmuter to make some new clothes for me?"

"Oh, you won't need clothes for while yet." A naughty smile appeared on Washu's face. "First things first."

There was a whirring noise behind Ayeka, and she turned to see metal tentacles swarming towards her. "No! -- Wait! -- WASHUUU --!"

------

Later in the day, with the family gathered around the dinner table, Washu was explaining the situation. Ayeka was still having a little trouble pronouncing complex words, so the pint-sized scientist did most of the talking. The now-smaller-than-pint-size princess mostly tried to look angry at Washu, but because of her stature it became a pout.

"It's a fascinating effect," Washu said, "Tsunami has preserved all of Ayeka's memories, but the connections between neurons have been reduced so that Ayeka's speech and motor skills are at the four-year-old level."

"Is that why she's spastic with her chopsticks?" Ryoko jumped in. Sure enough, Ayeka was having a lot of trouble getting food from her bowl to her mouth.

"Ryoko, you shouldn't say--" Sasami began with a reproachful tone.

"Oh, but I'm trying to help." Ryoko cut her off. "You have to know what the problem is before you can figure out how to fix it."

"Well, you have a point there." conceded Washu.

"So, Ayeka," Ryoko continued, "what you have to do is take the chopsticks in your fist, like this," she held her chopsticks together, "hold the bowl up to your mouth, and shovel the food in. Like most of us do." She demonstrated with enthusiasm, sending a generous stream of rice through her widely opened mouth.

"That's rude!" Ayeka shook her head, nearly smacking herself with her ponytails, which were now at the top of her head like Sasami's.

"Not on a bunch of planets that I've visited." Ryoko said. "In many places it's considered rude to make everyone else wait while you finish."

Ayeka's face fell as she realized that Ryoko had a point. Hesitantly she held the bowl up to her mouth, and started to move the food as Ryoko had suggested. In a few moments, however, hunger had triumphed over dignity, and Ayeka was munching away.

"Well, that solves one problem," Washu commented, "but we have a few more. It looks like Ayeka isn't going to be able to do much of the housework. Her strength and her coordination are both affected."

"Well, isn't that convenient," Ryoko commented.

"B'lve me, it's not." Ayeka responded as best she could through a mouthful.

"So," Washu continued, "Sasami will have to re-do the list of chores. I'm afraid the rest of us are going to have to pitch in a little more. Especially you." She finished with a look at Ryoko.

"Hey, why me?" protested the ex-space-pirate.

Ayeka opened her mouth, but Katsuhito intervened smoothly. "Because you have the greatest reserves of strength."

Ryoko put on an expression of fragility. "Oh, but I've been feeling so run-down since that last fight that Ayeka started. She was brutal--brutal, I tell you."

Ayeka began choking.

"I thought it came out pretty much even, like it usually does." Mihoshi put in her oar.

"And that brings up another point. Ayeka can't use her Jurai battle-suit or her tiara for the time being. I'm sure no one would unfairly take advantage of her inability to defend herself." Washu gave another look at Ryoko, who had an expression of considerable disappointment. "More, I can't be sure how delicate her neural connections are, given the regressed state of her brain. She should not get into fights--ANY fights."

"Well, I won't start any if she doesn't start any." Ryoko said.

"Not good enough." Washu stated. "Her emotions are going to run high, and her self-control has very likely been degraded to the level of a four-year-old along with almost everything else."

"Hmmph." Ryoko's expression was getting more displeased by the minute. "So how long is she going to stay like this?"

"That's difficult to say. Juraians have a wide range in maturation rates." Washu replied.

"A wide range?" Tenchi looked puzzled.

"That's right." Sasami nodded. "Some grow up about as fast as you're used to here on Earth. Others can grow many times slower. Do you remember my friend Asahi, who had aged only ten biological years in the seven centuries sister Ayeka and I were on board Ryu-Oh?"

"Oh, right." Tenchi said, then looked dismayed. "But if Ayeka grows at that rate, it will take her . . . almost a thousand years to get back to where she was."

"Nine hundred and eighty Earth years to be exact." Washu said, completely oblivious to the look of horror on Ayeka's face. "It's a good thing I'll be able to monitor the whole process." She added with gleeful anticipation.

"Oh, no . . . Ayeka . . ." Tenchi had not missed Ayeka's expression. "Don't worry. We'll do whatever we can to help you grow faster." He put his hand over her smaller one, and now he did miss Ryoko's look of outrage. "Washu, what's the best way to help Ayeka?"

"Well, she should perform activities to increase her body familiarity and coordination in a large-scale environment." said Washu.

"Huh?" said Mihoshi, and for once the remainder of the family echoed her confusion.

"She should spend lots of time playing outdoors," Washu clarified.

There was a loud snap, and the rest of the family turned to see that Ryoko had broken the chopsticks in her tightly clenched fist.

"Now who's 'thpastic?" Ayeka said, sounding exactly like a vengeful four-year-old.

_Just wait, Ayeka_. Thought Ryoko. _Sooner or later you're going to get big again – and when you do, you're toast._

(To be continued . . . )

Author's note: In "The All-New Tenchi Muyo!" Vol. 6, "Pet Peeves", we see that Ryu-Oh is still only a sprout. (That volume is _not_ recommended for Ryoko fans.) If you want an idea of how the child-like Ayeka looks, there is an excellent picture on the last page of the "No Need for Tenchi!" manga Vol. 10, "Mother Planet".


	2. An Unquiet Breakfast

Disclaimer: Characters and concepts from "Tenchi Muyo!" were created by Kajishima Masaki and Hitoshi Okuda, and are Copyright AIC and Pioneer LDC. This work is a parody and not to be used for any commercial purposes.

**Tree and Infancy, Ch. 2 **

It was bedtime, and Ayeka was having another problem. She had a book titled "Journey to the West" open on her lap, and it was a little larger than her lap, and she was reading slowly from it. "_The old man ...answered...'This...unworthy...place is called the...Flaming...Mountain. It is hot in all...four...seasons._'" She looked up from the book. "I'm sorry, Sasami. It's really hard now. I know the words, but it's like I haveta -- have to -- look up all the bigger words in a big dish'nary --dict-tio-nary-- in my head."

"That's okay, Ayeka." Sasami consoled. "Tomorrow we can get someone else to read the bedtime story. Say--I bet brother Tenchi would read it if we asked him nicely."

"That would be great!" Ayeka clapped her hands. With a bit of difficulty, she closed the book and put it on one of the lower shelves. She went back to her futon and pulled the sheet half-way over herself.

"It still feels strange to wear p'jamas again."

Sasami smiled. "I think it's a good idea, though. You're probably going to move around a lot more when you're asleep." She turned off the light, and got into her own futon.

"I guess so." Still, Ayeka tried to arrange herself in the classic sleeping pose, facing straight up, and her arms folded in so that her hands just crossed on her lower abdomen. "Sasami?" she asked uncertainly.

"Yes?"

"How long do you think Lord Tenchi will wait for me to grow again?"

Sasami considered her reply. "Brother Tenchi is fair-minded and very kind. I think he would wait at least several years." _I've always hoped he would wait long enough for me to grow up_, she added silently.

"I hope he doesn't have to," Ayeka said. "_Oyasumi, Sasami-chan_ (good night, little Sasami)."

"_Oyasumi, Ayeka-chan._" There were two giggles, and then two pairs of eyes closed.

About an hour later there was a soft buzzing sound near the ceiling. Ryoko's head emerged from empty air, and the cyan-haired woman looked down on the two sleepers. Sasami's prediction was coming true, for Ayeka's small body was now sprawled almost diagonally across the mattress. Ryoko smiled quietly, then looked further around the room. She noticed that the small statuette of Yosho must have been put away. A thought occurred to her. _I kind of like Ayeka that size, too . . ._

--------

The morning sun edged its way into the isolated valley of the Masaki shrine. A passerby would have concluded that here was a part of Japan where time almost stood still. Such a passerby would have been mostly right, but the currents of fashion could be felt even in such a place, however much an old shrine priest might struggle to keep them away. He might drop hints about tradition, or he might speak directly of unhealthy habits, but occasionally distasteful things would happen. Like his son-in-law developing a fondness for coffee instead of tea.

Nobuyuki, like many Japanese professionals, had become an enthusiastic coffee drinker. He claimed it helped him work more productively, and made him more respected at the office. Katsuhito shook his head, and predicted trouble. And trouble had arrived, although not what Katsuhito expected.

"I'm sure I can still help with the coffee, Sasami." Ayeka was surprisingly eager to lend a hand that morning. At her urging Washu had made a smock small enough to fit her. She had also borrowed a pair of Sasami's hair covers.

"Well," Sasami replied uncertainly, "I don't want you to get hurt. See if you can get the coffee maker out."

"Okay." In spite of the fact that there was a shiny red coffee maker with advanced-looking displays sitting plugged in on the counter, Ayeka trotted over to a nearby cupboard and opened it. She pushed aside a large pot and dragged out a cardboard box. From this, with noticeable effort, she lifted a plain-looking black coffee-maker. "See? I can do it."

Sasami took the black coffee-maker from Ayeka's arms and set it on the counter. "I think you should have Ryo-Ohki's help. Time to transform, Ryo-chan!"

"Mya!" the cabbit leaped off of Sasami's head, and changed with a soft "pop" into her toddler form.

In the meantime, Ayeka clambered up onto the counter, kneeling to keep her feet off the surface, and began measuring scoops of ground coffee into the two machines. As she finished each one, Sasami poured in the water. Sasami then unplugged the red coffee-maker, and plugged in the black one. Ayeka jumped off the counter, and Sasami handed the red one to Ayeka and Ryo-Ohki. Each holding one side, the tot-sized pair brought the device out of the kitchen, through the living room, and then through the sliding door out of the house.

Once outside, they proceeded to a flat rock on the ground, surrounded by a patch of ground that was bare except for a few shriveled clumps of grass.

"We'll set it down here, Ryo-Ohki," Ayeka instructed.

"Myaa." the toddler-cabbit agreed.

With a little maneuvering between the two of them, they lowered the red coffee-maker gently to the surface of the rock. After making sure it was steady, they turned and started back to the house. Ryo-Ohki began skipping, and Ayeka found herself joining in. Once back inside, Ayeka opened a closet and pull out a large roll of extension cord. She passed the plug end to Ryo-Ohki.

"Okay, Ryo-Ohki, take this end to Sasami." Ayeka said. The toddler-cabbit walked back to the kitchen, trailing the cord. Ayeka herself dragged her end out to the coffee-maker on the rock, and connected it. Returning to the house, she slid the glass door shut. Ryo-Ohki joined her, and they both looked through the glass. "All ready!" Ayeka called over her shoulder.

"FIRE IN THE HOLE!" Sasami shouted, and plugged her end of the extension cord in.

The red coffee-maker seemed to give a burp. Then another. Steam started coming out, and a high-pitched whine began to build in volume. More and more steam covered the area, and then there was a yellow flash from within the cloud, and the boom of an explosion.

Up on the hill of the main carrot field, a startled Tenchi turned towards the sound. "A quarter after six already?" He said aloud. He grasped his hoe and redoubled his efforts on the furrow in front of him.

Back in the kitchen, Sasami pulled the plug back out of the wall socket, shaking her head. She turned and flicked the switch on the black coffee-maker, which gave a gentle gurgle and began to make coffee.

In the meantime, there was a knock on the door to the closet under the stairs. The door opened, and Washu looked out. She glanced downwards, to discover Ayeka and Ryo-Ohki wearing oven mitts, and offering her the smoking remains of a red coffee-maker.

"Rats! I was sure I had it this time!" Washu said. "Are you _sure_ Mihoshi didn't go near it?"

Ayeka giggled at that. "Yes I am, Lady Washu. Miss Mihoshi is still asleep."

Washu fixed the little princess with a freezing glare. "I suppose you could do better?"

"I wouldn't mess--" Ayeka began, then thought better of it. "Ahh. . .if I were the greatest scient'if in the universe, I would invent something better, like . . ." she paused, then inspiration struck, "a lev'tation belt for my friend so she could reach the shelves in the kitchen."

"Oh, you can get Ryoko to fly up to the higher shelves." Washu waved a hand in dismissal. "I, Washu, will not be foiled by some native beverage on a back-water colony planet! Time to approach this at the quark level instead of the molecular level!" Taking the wreck of her coffee-maker, she stalked back into her lab with a diabolical laugh.

"We're gonna need a longer 'stension cord." said Ayeka.

"Mya." Ryo-Ohki nodded.

Setting the breakfast table was another thing that Ayeka could only do part-way. The chabudai table was low enough for her to reach, but the plates were now too heavy for her to carry more than a few at a time. A displeased Ryoko found herself doing that part, while Ayeka got the chopsticks and napkins. Ryoko looked suspiciously at Ayeka, wondering why she was insisting on doing things.

The answer became clearer when Tenchi walked in after completed the early morning work in the carrot fields. "I helped, Lord Tenchi!" Ayeka said, running up to Tenchi and evidently hoping to be hugged.

"I helped, too." Ryoko pointed out quickly. Ayeka shot her a glare.

Tenchi smiled at the two. "Thank you both," he said, gave a polite bow to each, and went into the kitchen to wash his hands. Ayeka said a word that four-year-olds are not supposed to know.

But breakfast proceeded surprisingly smoothly after that. Ayeka concentrated on using the chopsticks, scooping as Ryoko had advised with the more difficult foods, and using them the usual way with pieces of rolled omelet. For her part, Ryoko refrained from snatching any food from Ayeka's plate.

As breakfast was finishing, Ayeka spoke up. "I just thought of something. I know it's kinda like lying, but I think it would be better if my parents didn't know about this."

Ryoko thought for a moment. "You don't want to be taken back to Jurai, huh?" She gave a sidelong glance at Tenchi. "I don't know, Ayeka. I think you'd be much better off with your parents to take care of you."

"You just want me out of the way!" Ayeka protested.

"Who, me?" Ryoko put on her best innocent look. "I'm just looking out for your welfare."

"Ayeka should not go anywhere." Washu said flatly. "This is connected with her tree, so she should stay close."

"You just want to do some more tests." Ryoko accused.

"Who me?" Now it was Washu's turn to look innocent.

"Well, that's all right." Sasami spoke up cheerfully. "Ayeka can stay here, and I'm sure Mother will come to help for a while."

Ryo-Ohki smiled at the idea of Masaki being at the house. The entire rest of the family looked appalled. Ryoko's face especially had an expression like someone who discovers she's on the track of a runaway train.

"On second thought," said the ex-space-pirate, "I'm sure Queen Misaki has enough to concern herself with. Let's keep this quiet. "

"At least until we have a better idea how long this will last," Tenchi found himself agreeing. Heads nodded around the table.

A short time later, Ryoko was starting to regret not getting extra help. Sasami was washing the breakfast dishes, and the cyan-haired woman was drying, falling further and further behind to Sasami's amazing speed.

"Wouldn't it be easier to have an automatic dishwasher?" Ryoko said plaintively.

"Oh, I don't mind." Sasami's voice was as cheerful as ever. (Ryoko couldn't help thinking that one member of the team _did_ mind.) "But more important, Washu would want to 'improve' the dishwasher, and you know what would happen then."

"You have a point. Still, I wish--" And in the middle of her complaint, Ryoko giggled.

"See, it's not really bad at all." Sasami said.

"That's not me!" Ryoko said hastily. "I'm still having a lousy time; that must have come from Ryo-Ohki!" Her head turned as loud thumps started to come from the living room. "Oh-for-crying-out--" Ryoko dashed for the door.

In the living room beyond, several cushions had been dragged into place on the floor to form a sort of obstacle course between the couch and a large armchair. Ayeka and Ryo-Ohki were bouncing energetically back and forth between the two pieces of furniture, and squealing in delight.

"Stop that!" Ryoko remembered Washu's warning that Ayeka's brain might not be entirely stable. "Ayeka, that's not safe!"

"And when did you li'then to me about being safe?" Ayeka kept bouncing.

"Aw, man -- you sneaked some of Nobuyuki's coffee, didn't you?" Ryoko made the connection.

"Yeah! It tastes bad unless you put in lotsa sugar!"

"Just great." Ryoko moaned. "Ryo-Ohki, come here!"

"Mya, mya, myaa!" the toddler-cabbit showed no more sign of slowing down than Ayeka.

"Who's a wet blanket?" Ryoko demanded. She leaped to catch Ryo-Ohki. In mid-air, Ryo-Ohki transformed back into her small cabbit form, and Ryoko caught nothing but air. "Bad, _bad_ battleship!" she yelled in frustration. "And, you Ayeka, why can't you be more like your sister--"

But at that moment Ryoko realized that the thumping and yells of delight had redoubled. She turned her head, and was scandalized to see Sasami also bouncing between the cushions. "Hey, Ryoko, this is really fun!" shouted the newly largest of the princesses.

"Sasami!" Ryoko's voice rose another notch. Further attempts at catching misbehavors were ruled out, as she found she needed to hold her own head with both hands to keep it from exploding. "Enough! All of you, stop this before someone gets--"

But she was interrupted by a crash as the armchair was landed on by too much weight, and overturned. Ryoko hurried to the spot, and saw a shock of blonde hair spilling out from under the wreckage. "MIHOSHI?"

"_Itai_ (oww)," came the GP detective's lament.

"Hmm. This is going to be even more interesting than I thought." Washu remarked from the open doorway to her lab.

"This is going to be a complete nightmare." Ryoko countered. _And if the pirate guilds ever find out about this, I'll never live it down. __Ayeka, when you've grown up again -- you're toast!_

_(To be continued . . .) _

Author's note: It could be argued that Ryoko should be able to keep up with Sasami with the dishes. However, in "No Need for Tenchi!" manga Vol. 8, "Chef of Iron", Sasami shows herself to be a champion dishwasher as well as cook.


	3. Bath Time and Bed Time

Disclaimer: Characters and concepts from "Tenchi Muyo!" were created by Kajishima Masaki and Hitoshi Okuda, and are Copyright AIC, Pioneer LDC, and Viz LLC. This work is a parody and not to be used for any commercial purposes.

Author's Foreward: To fully understand this chapter (and many other things concerning anime and manga), the reader should know something about the book that Ayeka attempted to read in the last chapter. "Journey to the West", or "Pilgimage to the West" as it is sometimes translated, is one of the great classics of Chinese literature. Written by Wu-Cheng'en in the 16th century, it tells of the quest of a Buddhist monk to the western border of China to obtain a set of sacred Bhuddist writings or sutras. The story has become immensely popular in Japan, much like the English story of Robin Hood is universally known in the United States. A number of Japanese anime series use elements from "Journey to the West", for example "Dragonball" and "Ranma 1/2", in addition to "Tench Muyo" itself.

"Journey to the West" is loosely based on the historical travels of the twenty-seven year old monk Xuan Zhuang to India in the seventh century. For the novel, however, Wu-Cheng'en wrote a fantastical tale of gods, monsters, and magic. And although the mission for the sacred sutras is given to San Zhang (Sanzo or Genjo in Japanese, and sometimes Tripitaka in English), the story's primary character is the Monkey king Sun Wu Kong, or Son Goku in Japanese.

Monkey begins as a rebel against the established gods, born from a stone, then mastering many combat and magical skills and gaining immortality. Eventually, he invades Heaven, and the heavenly army subdues him only after many a battle. However, all attempts to execute him fail. Finally, the Buddha himself engages him in a duel to see who can jump furthest. Monkey leaps almost to a mountain range of five peaks, and then back again, only to discover that he has only been traveling along Buddha's palm, and the peaks are Buddha's fingers. (This is the meaning behind page 61 of the manga Vol 11, "Ayeka's Heart", which is labeled "not a Dragonball reference".) After his defeat, Monkey is imprisoned under a mountain for five centuries to calm him down.

When Sanzo the monk is directed to obtain the sacred texts, he is allowed to free Monkey from his imprisonment, and Monkey then becomes his loyal disciple and bodyguard. Sanzo also gains as companions the half-pig, half-human Zhu Ba Jie (Cho Hakkai in Japanese, also Pigsy or Pig), and the river-monster Sha Wu Jing (Sha Gojyo in Japanese, or Sandy in English). Pigsy has an appetite for both food and female companionship, and it was that last that got him thrown out of Heaven. Where Monkey uses a magic staff in combat, Pigsy uses, oddly enough, a rake. Together, the four face numerous monsters and obstacles on their quest of many years. The penultimate challenge is the Flaming Mountain. Incidentally, there really is a Flaming Mountain in China, which rivals Death Valley and the Sahara as the hottest place on Earth.

**Tree and Infancy, Chapter III**

"Wheee!" Ayeka shouted happily as she raced across the courtyard of the shrine.

"Myaaa!" Ryo-Ohki, in cabbit form, echoed as she also chased after the paper airplane a few feet above her.

"Slackers." Ryoko tried not to look up from her job of sweeping the courtyard flagstones. After the morning's events, it had been decided that Ayeka needed closer supervision, since her curiosity had evidently increased a great deal. But Ryoko had no intention of being the one doing the supervising.

"Oh, it's turning to the left again!" Mihoshi complained. And it was true; her creation made a slow bank and headed for the shrine entrance. "Catch it, girls!"  
Ryo-Ohki put on an extra burst of speed, leaped into the air, and caught the errant plane in her mouth before it could hit the door to the shrine office. However, the door opened a moment later, and Katsuhito emerged, evidently not happy with the noise and activity. The shrine priest glanced around, saw the smiling faces of Ryo-Ohki, Ayeka, and Mihoshi, and paused.

"Hi, brother Yosho!" said Ayeka. "Mihoshi showed us how to fold paper airplanes. Washu says it's a good way to help my co'dnation and use my energy."

"Washu has an excellent idea." The priest temporized. "But I'm not sure the shine area was meant to be an airfield." Ryoko looked up hopefully.

"We tried it down by the lake, but, well, the airplanes kept going into the water." Mihoshi explained. "This is the biggest open area."

"I see." It was evident that Katsuhito was not yet satisfied. "But what if you accidentally run off the edge of the courtyard and fall on the steps?"

"Oh, we thought of that." Ayeka spoke up. "That's why Mihoshi is throwing from the edge of the coh'tyard, to the shrine."

Katsuhito realized that his guns had been spiked. "That was well thought of. But I note that your paper airplane has been rendered unflyable." And indeed the airplane had much of the rear section crushed in Ryo-Ohki's mouth.

"You're right!" Mihoshi said. "Time to make another one. It's just amazing how many we're going through." Ryoko's face expressed that she found nothing amazing about it, though she kept quiet.

"Perhaps I can help." Katsuhito said. He crossed over to where Mihoshi had a folder of blank pieces of paper. Taking one, he busied himself for a few moments, and then held up an elegant origami version of an airplane.

"Myaa!" Ryo-Ohki was enthusiastic. Both Mihoshi and Ayeka broke out clapping. Even Ryoko gave a judicious nod of approval when no one was looking.

"Thank you very much." Mihoshi accepted the new paper airplane. "Okay, Ayeka and Ryo-Ohki!" The little girl and the cabbit trotted up to the blonde. "Here we go!" The blonde drew back her arm, and threw her new toy. This time it sailed straight across the courtyard, and Ayeka and Ryo-Ohki charged after it with squeals of merriment.

The shrine priest who was also the Crown Prince of the Juraian Empire watched them go, remembering another courtyard, many light-years away and over seven centuries past.  
Several times Mihoshi launched the paper airplane, and Ayeka and Ryo-Ohki vied to be the one to catch it when it descended. But at last, Ryoko's sweeping reached the last of the flagstones, and Mihoshi found herself throwing the little craft towards her.

"Ryoko! Watch out!" Mihoshi yelled.

The ex-space-pirate turned and gestured with her left hand. A red beam flared, and the paper airplane burst into flames and fluttered to the ground.

"Simply ducking would have been sufficient." Katsuhito fixed his gaze on Ryoko.

Unintimidated, Ryoko blew the last wisps of smoke from her fingertips like an old West gunfighter. "It's only fair that I should get to shoot down your ship once."

Whatever reply Katsuhito was planning was cut off as Sasami and Washu came up the stone steps to the courtyard. "We're done for the afternoon!" Sasami announced. "Who wants to join us in the onsen?"

"Count me in!" Ryoko answered. "I think more dust got onto me than onto the broom!"

"You did a lot of good work today, sister Ryoko." Sasami approved.

Ryoko turned so that the others wouldn't see her blush. "I'll get the saké if you'll get the soap and towels."

A few minutes later the five girls were in the floating onsen, preparing for a good long soak.  
"Here's a bar of soap, Ayeka." Sasami said to her sister. "Oh, wait -- do we have a towel small enough for you?"

There was a loud ripping sound, and then Ryoko handed Ayeka half a towel. "We do now."

"Uhh . . . thanks." Ayeka said uncertainly.

Ryoko put on a cheery expression. "Don't mention it. I think the strong should help those weaker than themselves. Which in my case means just about everybody."

"That's a wonderful attitude." Mihoshi enthused. Ayeka looked less impressed.

All five busied themselves scrubbing off the day's dirt and perspiration. Ryoko was tempted to comment that Ayeka hadn't encountered as much dirt as she had, but remembered that Sasami was still the hardest worker of all. Next came rinsing off. Sasami insisted on helping Ayeka, since a full basin of water was now too heavy for Ayeka to lift.

"Yeeoww!" Ayeka yelled. "That water feels even colder this time!"

"Not surprising. " Washu replied. "The ratio of lower-energy fluid to higher-energy mass is now. . ." The red-headed scientist paused, noticing that the rest of the group was staring at her blankly. "Umm, there's the same amount of water but less of you."

"Oh." Ayeka's voice had a note of anxiety. "Does that mean the onsen water is going to feel hotter?"

"Yes, but only a little. We keep the water temperature only a bit higher than normal body temperature." Washu reassured her.

"All right, here I go." Ayeka tightened the towel around herself, then put a cautious foot into the water. "It's not so bad." She sat down on the edge of the pool and slid in. The trouble was that she kept sliding in, until only the tops of her pony-tails were above the surface. Furious splashes and bubbles came up for a few moments, and then Washu hastily reached in and hauled the little princess back out of the water.

"It's too deep!" Ayeka cried.

"Yes, we seem to have forgotten about simple linear dimensions as well." Washu said.

"I guess we're going to need some kind of booster seat." Sasami suggested.

"I'll build one later on," Washu said, "but for now I think Ayeka will have to sit on someone's lap."

Ryoko quickly folded her arms and shook her head. "Uh-uh."

"I've got a nice lap." Mihoshi offered.

"That sounds like a good idea," said Sasami.

"Okay. Thank you, Miss Mihoshi." Ayeka's voice sounded a little uncertain.

One by one, the girls entered the pool, each giving a sigh of contentment at the soothing warmth of the water. Ayeka settled her pint-size body on Mihoshi's legs and slowly relaxed.

"Who wants saké?" Ryoko held up a freshly unsealed bottle.

"Can I still have some?" Ayeka asked.

"Bad idea," said Washu. "Your smaller body and brain could be affected by the alcohol. Remember what the caffeine in the coffee did?"

"Well, you have a small body too." Ayeka countered.

There was a whoosh, and waves rippled outwards as Washu transformed into her adult size. "Now I don't." She held out her saucer. "Fill me up, Ryoko!" The cyan-haired woman poured a healthy measure of saké with a well-practiced hand.

Ayeka looked at the saké bottle with a sorrowful expression. Ryoko, however, seemed to be more cheerful than she had been in quite some time.

--------

Dinner that evening went without incidents, with Ayeka noticeably improving on both her speech and her abilities with chopsticks. Sasami broached the idea of Tenchi reading the bedtime story, and Tenchi readily agreed. (Not that he stood a chance against two cute blue-haired princesses.)

Some time later, Tenchi found he had an audience of all of the females in the Masaki household. Ayeka and Sasami were on their futons, listening raptly. Mihoshi had wandered in and was sitting to one side. Not to be left out, Ryoko had phased through a wall and was hovering cross-legged in mid-air. Even Washu was leaning in the doorway.

Tenchi turned the page and continued reading. "_The local deity said, 'I will tell you of the Flaming Mountain, but you must promise not to be angry.'  
'Go on,' Monkey said, 'Why should I be angry?'  
'You are the one who made the Flaming Mountain,' said the local deity.  
'What nonsense is this?' Monkey demanded. 'Am I the sort of person who starts fires?'  
'I see you don't recognize me,' answered the local deity. 'There used to be no mountain here; but five hundred years ago, when you played havoc in Heaven, the gods seized you and put you in the Eight Trigram Furnace. But you kicked it over and a few of the bricks, still burning, fell down and became the Flaming Mountain. I was the one in charge of tending the furnace, and for my failure to protect it the Taoist Patriarch demoted me from Heaven and made me the local deity here.'_" Tenchi reached the bottom of the page and paused.

"Hey, that's a lot like what happened with sister Ryoko and big brother Yosho!" Sasami exclaimed. "Monkey's invasion of heaven was like Ryoko's raid on Jurai, and then when Ryoko crashed here on Earth it made the lake, like Monkey made the Flaming Mountain. Then brother Yosho became the guardian of the shrine nearby, like the local god. And of course Monkey was buried under the Mountain of Five Peaks, while sister Ryoko was sealed in the cave."

"That's right!" Mihoshi nodded.

"I am NOT a monkey!" Ryoko said indignantly.

"But you got a tail!" Ayeka pointed out with glee.

"It's artificial," Ryoko shot back, "and it's supposed to be like a cat's tail, not a monkey's tail!"

"Well, I think it makes you look like a monkey." Ayeka said.

"Ayeka!" both Sasami and Tenchi said reproachfully.

"Sorry." Ayeka looked downwards, then thought of something else. "But Ryoko's flying is a lot like Monkey's riding the clouds."

"I think the flying abilities I gave Ryoko are much better than cloud-riding." Washu declared.

"And that would mean Tenchi is like the young monk Sanzo," Sasami pointed out, "because he freed sister Ryoko from the cave, and now she follows him everywhere."

"Stop that!" Ryoko protested. "For the last time, I am not like Monkey!"

"You are too!" sang out Ayeka.

"Am not!"

"Are too!"

"Well then, you must be like Pigsy!" Ryoko countered.

"Not so!" Ayeka disagreed. "Why would I be like Pigsy?"

"Because you're ugly!" Ryoko said with a wicked grin.

"I AM NOT!" Ayeka yelled, and then burst into tears.

"Ryoko!" shouted everyone else at once.

"Sorry." Ryoko looked downwards.

Washu put her head in her hands. "5,000 years old . . . she makes a mother so proud."

"Personally, I think Pigsy is more like me." Mihoshi said, putting her arm on the shoulder of the sobbing Ayeka. "He likes to eat and sleep a lot, but he's loyal, and fights using an unusual weapon, like me with my control cube."

"That's true," agreed Sasami.

"R--really?" Ayeka managed, her tears lessening.

"And I don't think you look ugly at all." Tenchi said.

"I'm not, Lord Tenchi?" Ayeka stopped crying entirely.

"No, in fact I think you're very pretty," Tenchi began to get nervous, "as a little girl."

"But how about as a grown-up?" Ayeka pressed. "That's what I would be in the story."

Tenchi noticed Ryoko, Mihoshi, and even Washu staring at him intently. "I think all of you are very beautiful," he said carefully, "including Ayeka and Sasami when they grow up."

"That's so sweet!" exclaimed Mihoshi.

"Thank you, brother Tenchi." Sasami said.

"Chicken." Washu and Ryoko muttered.**  
**

( To be continued . . .)

Author's note: For what it's worth, this writer's humble opinion is that Mihoshi is mistaken: the "Tenchi Muyo!" character most like Pigsy is Nobuyuki. Ayeka is apparently not based on any of the "Journey to the West" characters, but rather on the Shinto sun goddess Amaterasu. (There is a story of her retreating into a cave, somewhat like Ayeka's hiding in her room after the crash of Ryu-Oh.)


	4. Buccaneer Sasami

Disclaimer: Characters and concepts from "Tenchi Muyo!" were created by Kajishima Masaki and Hitoshi Okuda, and are Copyright AIC and Pioneer LDC. This work is a parody and not to be used for any commercial purposes.

**Tree and Infancy**

The morning sun touched the two guardians standing patiently at the gate.

"It looks like another beautiful day," Azaka remarked.

"FIRE IN THE HOLE!" came Sasami's shout.

"Perhaps . . . but I believe I see some approaching clouds." demurred Kamidake.

_Kablaaam! _

"It seems odd that we are here to protect Princess Ayeka, and yet she is allowed to handle explosive devices." pondered Azaka.

The child-size Ayeka came skipping out of the house, followed by the toddler form of the second generation of the battleship that had devastated the Juraian capital.

"_That_ is what you find odd about the situation?" asked Kamidake.

--------

"What about our game of volleyball?" Sasami asked.

"That's right." Tenchi frowned. "We don't have an even number of players now."

"Oh . . . I was really looking forward to it." Mihoshi sighed in disappointment.

After a few disastrous episodes, a weekly game of volleyball had become a favorite activity in the Masaki household. The key was to put Ryoko and Ayeka on the same team, and Tenchi on the opposing side. This kept the two rivals from escalating the conflict beyond what normal humans could handle. (Not that there were any normal humans in the game, but Tenchi said it was the principle of the thing.)

"I don't suppose we could get your grandpa to join?" Ryoko suggested. She had already retreived a volleyball from the storeroom.

"Not a chance." Tenchi shook his head. "He won't participate in anything that isn't at least three centuries old."

"Myaa, mya." Ryo-Ohki piped up.

"What?" Washu looked at the toddler-cabbit. "All right, give it a try."

Ryo-Ohki closed her eyes and concentrated. For a moment, nothing happened, and then she expanded to the size she had been when she first took over the humanoid Masses.

"Wow! Well done, Ryo-chan!" Sasami applauded. The rest of the group joined in, except for Ayeka.

"I think she'll need some new clothes, though." Tenchi pointed out. And in fact, Ryo-Ohki's toddler outfit no longer covered below her stomach. Fortunately for Tenchi's blood pressure, she wasn't anatomically correct, at least by human standards.

Sasami turned to Ayeka. "Can she borrow your volleyball gear, sister?"

For a long moment Ayeka couldn't say anything. But she saw the eagerness on the faces of Ryo-Ohki and Sasami. " . . . okay." She managed.

Tenchi realized that Ayeka was going to be left out. "Thank you, Ayeka. Tell you what, I'll play a game of go afterwards, just with you."

Ayeka's face lit up. The next moment, there was the sound of a small explosion. The group turned, and saw Ryoko with the limp remains of a volleyball drooping from her rigid fist.

"A new record." Washu commented. "We didn't even have the first serve." She trotted off to retrieve a spare volleyball from the large stockpile they had learned was often needed.

--------

Later in the day, the afternoon chores had been completed, and Sasami had readied most of the dishes for dinner so that they only needed heating. A wonderful interval of freedom was at hand. Time for exploration. Time for discovery. Time for . . . swiping her sister's tiara.

But her energetic rifling through the cylindrical containers in the bedroom was having no success. It seemed to Sasami that she had dug through a mountain of brushes, combs, curlers, elastic bands, and hair covers with no sign of a tiara. Finally she came to the last item, with no different result than before. It seemed to be a bottle of conditioner, marked with red crab logos. In front, someone had drawn a skull and crossbones over the label. Sasami puzzled over it for a moment, and then turned to put it back.

"Can't find what you're looking for, eh?" Ryoko's head appeared through the wall.

"Yeeek!" Sasami jumped back from Ryoko's sudden appearance, and the bottle went nearly to the ceiling.

"There's a guilty conscience." Ryoko phased the rest of herself into the room, and deftly caught the bottle on its way down.

"Well, you startled me, sister Ryoko, and I was just . . ." Sasami's voice trailed off as she realized she wasn't going to fool someone with many centuries of experience helping herself to what didn't belong to her. "Okay, how did you know?"

"I heard the same sounds that I was making when I was looking for Tenchi's sword." Ryoko smiled. "So what are you after? Wait, let me guess -- Ayeka's tiara, right?"

"Well, it's not fair." Sasami said unhappily. "Brother Tenchi and sister Ayeka have tree keys, but I'm never going to get one. I just wanted to know what it's like."

Ryoko looked sympathetically at Sasami. The little princess had a point. And anything likely to annoy Ayeka was a good thing in her book. "You know, Sasami, you're right. And we should help Ayeka grow by sharing her stuff. After all, she can't use it for the time being."

"But, I can't find it." Sasami began closing the containers she had searched.

Ryoko handed her the bottle she had saved. "You need to think more like a pirate. We're good at figuring out where people hide things. Now let's see . . . Ayeka's body was shrunk to child-size, and her tiara no longer fit . . . she couldn't have hid it from Washu when she went to see her . . ."

"So she probably hid it in Ryu-Oh's unit before she left!" Sasami exclaimed.

"There you go." Ryoko approved. "Now, when Ayeka found out she might stay child-size for years, she would have written the location down somewhere."

"That makes a lot of sense." Sasami agreed.

"But where would she hide the note?"

"Hmm. . ." Sasami furrowed her brows in thought, then snapped her fingers. "In the pocket of her formal robes! You know, the outfit with the cowl that she wore on the Ryu-Oh's bridge. That would remind her where it was."

"That's it!" Ryoko floated over to the closet. "Sasami, you would've made a great pirate." She opened the closet door and searched through the pockets of the robe with an experienced hand. "Aha!" She displayed a folded piece of paper with a flourish.

"Let me see!" Sasami hurried over. Ryoko unfolded the paper. "Ohh! It's a treasure map!"

On the paper was a drawing of the floor plan of Ryu-Oh's unit. A dashed line started at the entrance, heading towards one of the pools. It turned and went towards the plot of soil with the tree at its center. There was a large "X" about half-way from the edge of the plot to the tree. At the bottom of the page were some notes with numbers.

"She buried her tiara. . .well, well." Ryoko mused. "Tricky, but not tricky enough."

"We're going on a buried treasure hunt!" Sasami ran over to her side of the closet. "Just give me a few minutes and I'll make some pirate outfits for us!"

"Uh . . . pirate outfits?" Ryoko looked bewildered.

"Well, you said I should think like a pirate, didn't you?" Sasami started gathering scarves, leggings, a ruffled blouse, and other items.

"That's not quite the kind of . . ." Ryoko began, and then stopped. Sasami seemed so enthusiastic. "Okay, but I'm not wearing a peg leg."

--------

A short time later, Sasami and Ryoko were making their way quietly through the darker corridors of Washu's lab. Sasami had done a good job with their outfits, even getting a piece of plastic that Ryoko's infra-red vision could see through for her eye-patch. "Are you sure this way leads to Ryu-Oh's unit?" whispered Ryoko.

"I'm pretty sure," answered Sasami in an equally low voice. "But we usually take another route."

"As long as we get there soon." Ryoko said nervously. Now that the Souja had been destroyed, there was no scarier place in the known universe for Ryoko than Washu's lab.

"Don't worry. This place is huge. What are the chances of anyone coming to this spot?"

"Hello, girls!" came Mihoshi's voice. "What are you doing?"

"_Yeeek!_" Sasami and Ryoko both appeared to levitate, though only Ryoko actually did. Two shovels clattered to the floor.

"Oh, I'm sorry," Mihoshi was her usual bubbly self, "I didn't mean to startle you."

"_Mihoshi_--" Ryoko began, but got her voice under control. "What are you doing here?"

"Well, Washu and Ayeka are playing doctor again, and they both yelled at me to get out when I walked into Washu's examination room--"

"I prefer to call it the Chamber of Horrors," Ryoko interposed.

"--anyway, Ayeka has a really high-pitched shriek now, so I left in a big hurry, and I kind of got turned around. So if I could just follow you out of here . . . Oh, are you playing pirates?"

"Uh . . . yeah." Ryoko answered.

"That sounds like fun!" Mihoshi became even more cheerful, which Ryoko wouldn't have thought possible. "Can I join you?"

"Sure!" Sasami answered while Ryoko was trying to think of a good reason to turn Mihoshi down.

"But I don't have an outfit." Mihoshi realized. "Can I borrow your eye-patch, Ryoko?"

Both Ryoko and Sasami thought of how much tripping Mihoshi did even when using both eyes. "Why don't you just take the three-cornered hat." Ryoko suggested, handing it over.

Three minutes later, the trio had entered the large but brightly lit unit that housed Ryu-Oh.

"All right." Sasami held the map up close to read it. "We need a marker on top of the hill. I guess that means the little dome over there."

"I'll stand on top of it." Ryoko flew over to the hemishpere that housed the water system for the unit.

"Okay, Mihoshi," Sasami resumed, "from the door, thirty paces directly towards Ryoko."

Mihoshi aimed herself at Ryoko and stepped off thirty paces.

"Now, turn towards Ryu-Oh, and take twenty paces." Sasami instructed. "And that should be where to dig."

Mihoshi turned, and started walking. But at only eleven paces, she passed over the tiny tree, and by twenty paces she had gone completely off the plot of soil. "Oh, no! What did I do wrong?"

"You didn't do anything wrong." Ryoko said. _This time_, she added silently.

"I know!" Sasami slapped her own forehead. "You took Mihoshi-sized paces. We need paces the size of Ayeka's new body."

"Oh . . . this is Ayeka's map?" Mihoshi asked.

"But how are we going to get paces the right size?" Ryoko paid no attention to Mihoshi. "Even your body is bigger than hers, Sasami."

"That's a good point." Sasami admitted.

"We'll do it the direct way." Ryoko flew over to Ryu-Oh's plot, and hovered just a bit off the ground. Reaching down, she phased her arm into the ground, reaching almost up to the shoulder. She began to fly in a slow circle, starting at the edge of the plot, and then spiraling inwards. " . . . rock . . . rock . . . ewww, Juraian worm . . . "

"I didn't think of using your powers that way!" Sasami enthused.

But as Ryoko reached a point half-way to the center, lightning seemed to erupt from the ground, sending shocks all through Ryoko's body. "_Yeeoowwch!_"she yelled, yanking her arm out of the ground and hastily leaping to the side. "What was _that_?"

"Ooops." Sasami hurried over, closely followed by Mihoshi. "I forgot that the tiara is a key for a Royal Tree. It won't allow anyone not of Juraian royal blood to touch it, just like Tenchi's sword."

Ryoko took her scorched fingers out of her mouth. "We must try to think of these things sooner from now on," she said in a strained voice.

"Wait -- the treasure is Ayeka's tiara?" Mihoshi caught on. "But that's like stealing!"

"I think of it as unconscious sharing," Ryoko said.

"No, I can't!" Mihoshi shook her head. "I'm a Galaxy Police detective. What would the G.P. say if they found out?"

"No one's going to find out." Ryoko declared.

"_Avast, ye scurvy knaves!_" roared two voices from behind.

"YEEEEK!" While only Sasami truly was a little girl, the screams of Mihoshi and Ryoko sounded remarkably like hers. Sasami grabbed Mihoshi in a panic-clutch. Mihoshi grabbed for Ryoko, but the ex-space-pirate had already zoomed back up into the air. Mihoshi overbalanced, and both she and Sasami toppled into the pool at the side of the plot of earth with an impressive double splash.

They surfaced, streaming water, and looked at where the voices had come from. Washu and Ayeka stood there. Washu had clearly used her transmuter to create costumes also matching the occasion. The redheaded genius wore a navy captain's uniform from the age of sail, complete with an officer's hat and jeweled sword. Ayeka wore a seaman's outfit remarkably like a schoolgirl's sailor _fuku_, except that she had shorts instead of a skirt, and small boots.

In the air, Ryoko gritted her teeth in embarrassment. Caught red-handed by a pint-size Ayeka -- and worse, she had a better-tailored outfit! _Ayeka, you are sooo toast!_

"We'll teach you ruffians . . . heh-heh . . ." Washu was attempting to continue her law-and-order speech, but the sight of Mihoshi and Sasami was too funny to keep a straight face. " . . . to ply your dark trade . . . hee . . . in our waters . . . ha ha ha!" The pint-size scientist had to double over and slap her knees.

"And boy, are you ever . . .ho ho. . ." The even-smaller princess started rolling on the floor, " . . . in our waters!"

Mihoshi and Sasami started to glare at Ayeka, but there is something very different about being laughed at by a cute four-year-old in a sailor outfit, rather than by an adult-size person. They turned to look at each other, noticing their water-bedraggled hair and Sasami's soaking pirate costume. And then they burst out giggling as well.

--------

"I still say we shoulda hanged Ryoko from the yardarm." Ayeka gave her opinion to her fellow diners at the table a little later.

"You and whose navy?" Ryoko retorted.

"What's a yardarm?" Mihoshi asked.

"It's where the sail hangs from on a sailing ship," answered Washu. "So we didn't have one available. But maybe I'll try a cat-o'-nine-tails on Ryoko during her next exam."

"Ah, there's nothing like a mother's love." Ryoko's voice had a double helping of sarcasm.

"Are you saying I'm a bad mother?" Washu demanded.

"Oh, no, I wouldn't say 'bad'," Ryoko was unfazed, "just the worst in the galaxy."

Tenchi focused his attention on his plate. _Do not get involved, _he thought._ Do NOT get involved_ . . .

(To be continued . . . )


	5. Inconveniences

Disclaimer: Characters and concepts from "Tenchi Muyo!" were created by Kajishima Masaki and Hitoshi Okuda, and are Copyright AIC and Pioneer LDC. This work is a parody and not to be used for any commercial purposes.

Foreword: I have decided to raise the rating on this fanfic to "Teen", since some more adult matters are discussed in this chapter.

**Tree and Infancy, Chapter 5**

It is an interesting and sometimes inconvenient fact that when a group of women share the same house, their monthly cycles tend to synchronize. To Washu's keen scientific interest, this turned out to also be true with all the girls in the Masaki household, regardless of home planet, whose age was not measured in thousands of years. But though it happened on the same days, Mihoshi, Ayeka, and Sasami dealt with "that time of the month" in very different ways. Mihoshi simply ate a little less and slept even more than usual. Ayeka gulped down generous doses of pain-relieving pills, and then tried to carry on as though nothing was happening. Washu had developed several experimental medications for the violet-haired princess, but after one concoction had turned Ayeka's skin a light jade-green, the tests were summarily halted. Though Ryoko made several comments disparaging Ayeka's sense of adventure (the phrase "chicken-hearted" came up more than once), Ayeka was unyielding. And for once, Mihoshi took a side in the argument, giving her opinion that Ayeka's new skin tone clashed with her violet hair. (Strangely, Ayeka had looked even more displeased after this well-meant statement.)

In Sasami's case, to the unhappiness of everyone, Sasami's cramps were only slightly lessened by Earth medicines. The young princess could not safely take large enough doses to relieve the pains. Therefore, Sasami was obliged to spend a few days resting in her room. With the chief cook out of action, hunger stalked the halls of the Masaki house. And it did so in the person of Ryoko.

"Aren't you guys done yet?" the ex-space-pirate demanded.

"Give us a break!" Washu looked up from the stove that she and Tenchi were toiling over. "Nobody's as fast as Sasami."

"You can have it quick, or you can have it edible." Tenchi added. "Personally, I'd choose edible."

"I guess so," conceded Ryoko, but she was still very unhappy about the situation. Not only did meals take longer to arrive, but she couldn't glomp on to Tenchi while he was cooking.

"If you want to be useful, why don't you keep Sasami company?" Washu suggested.

From Ryoko's expression, it was clear that she would much rather eat or be all over Tenchi than be 'useful'. However, it wasn't the kind of thing you said to your mother, especially when your mother could devastate a continent without breaking a sweat. "Okay," she said with a notable lack of enthusiasm, and teleported to the hallway upstairs.

Another problem with Ayeka's child-like body, Ryoko thought. Usually, Ayeka spent a good deal of time with her sister during the days that Sasami was resting. But this time, Ayeka's body was too young for "the curse", and an energetic four-year-old didn't make good company for someone feeling unwell. Ryoko knocked on the door of Sasami's bedroom, not wanting to frighten the young princess by phasing in through a wall.

"Who is it?" Sasami called, her voice having little of its usual cheerfulness.

Ryoko caught the note, and began to be more concerned. "It's me," she answered, and suddenly felt foolish, realizing that any member of the household could have given that answer. "It's Ryoko," she added.

"Oh. Come in," Sasami said.

Ryoko slid open the door, and entered normally, without her usual floating through the air. "Hi, Sasami. How are you feeling?"

"I'm okay, I guess," Sasami answered, but she didn't look like someone who was feeling okay.

Ryoko forgot that she hadn't wanted to be there. "Can I get you anything? I'm sure they'll let me back into the kitchen to get you some tea, for instance."

"No, I'm not thirsty now." Sasami hesitated for a moment. "Ryoko? Can I ask...what was your first period like for you?"

"It never happened." Ryoko said quietly. "Kagato saw no need for a menstrual cycle."

Sasami's looked startled. "But what about before? What about when you were still growing? Oh--I'm sorry, you don't remember that."

"There wasn't much to remember. Washu says she assembled my body full-size. She says it was the best way to combine the Masses with DNA-based organs. So I never had a period--but I never had a childhood either." Ryoko gave a half-hearted smile. "Funny, isn't it? Ayeka gets to have two childhoods." (Down in the kitchen, Washu looked up suddenly with an intrigued expression on her face.)

"I'm sure she'd give you one, if she could." Sasami said. The two looked at each other for a moment, and then grinned.

"I'll let her keep it." said Ryoko. "You know, in some ways I like Ayeka as a four-year old a lot better. She doesn't act superior, or try to tell us how to behave."

"It is kind of nice, for me too." Sasami nodded. "Ayeka was already twelve when I was born, so I don't remember her being little. Now I get to see that part."

"Do you think this is the way she was the first time she was little?" Ryoko asked. "I mean, she's enthusiastic and playful . . . I wonder what happened to change her so much?"

"I'm pretty sure I know." Sasami answered. "The first-born heirs of all four royal houses are trained in manners and diplomacy and all that stuff starting at age ten."

"Just the first-borns?" Ryoko asked.

"Uh-huh. With four royal families, there are lots of princes and princesses. I think it's like Saudi Arabia on this planet. Anyway, for the eldest boys and girls, it's kind of a shock to most of them -- having their lives change so much. Suddenly they have people watching just about everything they do and say."

"Now that's why I've always believed you should say what you honestly think." Ryoko declared. "It saves a lot of worry and confusion. If other people get a little miffed by the truth, that's their problem."

"You know, I said something like that to Ayeka. But she says that when some of the people she deals with get miffed, they start wars."

"Yeah . . . there is that." Ryoko said thoughtfully.

"I guess I'm lucky that I haven't had to worry about it." Sasami winced as another pain went through her. "But maybe not anymore. If Ayeka stays like this . . . I'll be the oldest. I'll have to be the First Princess."

"Don't worry, kid." Ryoko put as much reassurance into her voice as she could. "Everyone in the house is rooting for Ayeka to get bigger again. And I know Washu's working on it whenever she isn't trying to 'improve' Nobuyuki's coffee-maker."

Sasami's spirits went up a little. "Really? But how about you? Don't you want Ayeka to be too little for Tenchi?"

"I'll be honest with you." Ryoko answered. "I'd accept it if your sister is out of the running. But I'd rather Tenchi chooses me in a straight contest--and I think I've got what it takes for him to choose me. With things as they are now, Tenchi pays more attention to Ayeka, because he's worried about her. I know he'd give me just as much attention if things were the other way around. But I still don't like it. I want the original First Princess back, just like you do."

"Thank you, Ryoko." And now Sasami did look more cheerful. A few moments later someone else knocked at the door. "Who's there?"

"It's Ayeka," came the little-girl voice, "Are you feeling well enough for a visitor?"

"Come on in, sister," Sasami replied, "Ryoko is here already."

The door slid open, and Ayeka stepped inside. Ryoko noticed that she held one hand behind her back, but guessed what was happening and decided not to spoil Sasami's surprise.

"I brought you something that might help you feel better, Sasami." Ayeka said.

"A hot water bottle?" Sasami guessed.

Ayeka smiled. "It's only hot if Ryoko tries to grab it." She brought her hand from behind her back, and held out her tiara. "I can't use it for now, so I thought we should see if you've grown big enough."

"Wow!" Sasami's eyes seemed to grow even larger. She reached to take the intricately sculpted headpiece, and slowly put it over the two triangles on her forehead. "It's a little loose, but it fits! This feels amazing . . . Hey, I can see Ryu-Oh's memories! There's the time we all had to sleep in the unit because Mihoshi wrecked the house . . . and Ayeka fell into the pool chasing after Ryo-Ohki."

"Oops. I forgot that you'd be able to do that." Ayeka reddened slightly.

"Lunch is ready!" Tenchi called from downstairs.

"I'll have to tell you how to put up a shield later, Sasami." Ayeka started for the door, "Oh -- could you promise to keep anything else embarrassing a secret?"

"If you promise to bring me an extra cookie later on," Sasami grinned. Ryoko looked disappointed, then thoughtful.

"It's a deal." Ayeka said, and went out the door. Ryoko followed her, and gently closed the door behind them.

"You did good, kid." Ryoko said quietly to Ayeka as they went down the stairs.

"Thanks." But Ayeka didn't look as satisfied as Ryoko might have been expected.

--------

Lunch went calmly but fairly quietly. Tenchi and Washu had come up with some simple but fairly tasty dishes, and the others thanked them generously. Other than that, Ryoko kept unusually quiet, although Mihoshi and Ayeka chattered about playing hopscotch later. It was after lunch had been cleaned up and the others were heading towards their afternoon activities that Ryoko intercepted Washu as the redhead was about to enter her lab.

"Could I talk to you for a moment, Washu?" Ryoko said quietly.

"Okay." Washu opened the broom closet door and waved Ryoko in. After closing the door behind them, she seated herself on her floating cushion. "What's on your mind?"

"Ayeka went to a fair amount of trouble to keep anyone from getting hold of her key before." Ryoko pointed out. "And now all of sudden Sasami can keep it for the duration. Something's changed, and I think you know what it is."

"I shouldn't be sharing personal details about Ayeka with you, you know." Washu said.

"Believe me, I know what it's like not to have any privacy." Ryoko gave a piercing look at Washu. "But all of us are a little responsible for looking out for Ayeka now. And I've already made a good guess."

"Yes, you have." Washu sighed. "You might as well have it confirmed. It looks like the link between Ayeka and Ryu-Oh is now extending to Ayeka's maturing. If she's growing at all, it's too slow for me to detect."

Ryoko's face looked grim. "Aw, man . . ."

""Why, Ryoko," Washu gazed at her, "is that sympathy for Ayeka I see?"

"Don't be ridiculous!" Ryoko shook her head. "I need Ayeka strong and full-sized when I toast her royal rump!"

--------

It was three days later, and Sasami was back to her energetic self. Which was a good thing, because she had her heart set on preparing a special dinner for Mihoshi, who was flying out to Saturn later in the evening to deliver her monthly report to Galaxy Police HQ. It was true that Mihoshi usually returned less than twenty-four hours later, but occasionally there were delays, and Sasami wanted to make sure she had a proper send-off. It also helped to keep Ryoko in a good mood, since the cyan-haired woman and her ship often had to do some fancy flying to keep Mihoshi from demolishing the house when she landed back in Okayama.

"Hi, Sasami," Washu leaned into the kitchen doorway. "Oh, dear. That smells really good."

"Hi, Washu." Sasami looked up. "I hope that doesn't mean you'll have to miss dinner."

"I think we all are." Washu's expression turned serious. "A strange ship is entering the Solar System. Could you get the others while I put dinner on hold?"

"Oh, no . . ." Sasami began to protest, but stopped as she realized how serious the situation might be. She trotted out of the kitchen while Washu summoned portals to her time-frozen pocket of subspace.

A few minutes later, the family had gathered in Washu's lab. The red-headed genius was pointing out the intruder on a wall-sized active display of the Solar system. "The ship is moving at low power, clearly trying to be as stealthy as it can." Washu was in her best lecturing style. "Judging from the deceleration, it will come to a halt somewhere in the asteroid belt."

"So it's not going to attack the Earth?" asked Tenchi.

"Not likely." Ryoko looked over the projected course with the professional eye of a seasoned space pirate. "I'd say they're going into hiding to set up an ambush. Sasami, Ayeka," she turned to the two Juraian princesses, "are you expecting any visitors?"

Sasami and Ayeka shook their heads. "We still haven't told anyone about my . . . shrinking." Ayeka said. "But I guess we'll have to soon."

"That can wait for right now. Let's focus on who are visitors are planning to ambush." Washu moved her pointer back to the symbol representing Earth. "Perhaps their intended target isn't coming from outside. It seems quite a coincidence that they've arrived right when Mihoshi is about to go into space."

"They're after me?" exclaimed Mihoshi.

Ryoko frowned. "Not that Mihoshi hasn't made a number of criminals mad at her, but assassinating a Galaxy Police officer is a very risky move."

"Ryoko makes a good point." Ayeka spoke up. "But if they were part of a major pirate guild they might try it."

"Still, we can't just ignore them, whatever they're up to." Mihoshi's voice was unusually stern. "This is a specially protected zone, and attacks here are prohibited. It's my duty to investigate this."

"I thought you might consider it that way." Washu nodded. "All right, here's what I've been able to find out so far. The ship is medium-sized but doesn't have extensive crew quarters. Power plant is large, even though they're moving slow and quietly at the moment. The outer hull is coated with radar-absorbing material, making it difficult to determine anything more about the inside. However, a large device, which is currently inactive, has been mounted on the underside of the ship."

"Not much to go on." Ryoko remarked.

"That's all my sensors can get without an active scan." Washu said.

"And then they'd know that we know." Ryoko nodded. "I think we need to bring along everyone who can fight, just to be safe."

The full-sized members of the group looked at Ayeka and Sasami.

"I should get to go this time!" Sasami protested. "I've always had to stay behind before."

"But you don't have a battle-suit." Tenchi pointed out.

"I can use the tiara." Sasami countered.

"_My_ tiara." Ayeka said as firmly as her four-year-old voice could manage.

"But you can't use it now, and I can. At least let me ride along with Ryo-Ohki. I can put up an extra shield on the bridge."

"Ryo-Ohki's defenses are fine already, thank you." Washu declared.

"Why don't you come along with me and Yukinojo?" Mihoshi suggested. "I could use an extra set of eyes to watch all the instruments and displays."

"No!" Ayeka's eyes widened in alarm. "Even if nothing happens when you meet the intruding ship, you'll crash on the way back!"

"Oooh!" Sasami burst out. "Big sisters are such a royal pain!" This in spite of the fact that she was currently a head taller than Ayeka.

"Hey, I don't crash every time I land here, do I?" Mihoshi demanded.

"Well, there are the times Ryo-Ohki and I manage to catch you." Ryoko said.

"Come on, please?" Sasami asked. "I can't stay behind forever. When is there going to be a better opportunity to find out what space missions are like?"

"That's true." Washu said thoughtfully.

"Ayeka, I think this might be a good idea after all." Tenchi chimed in.

Ayeka stood frozen for a few moments. She didn't want to keep her sister mad at her, or refuse Tenchi. "All right," she said finally, "But I want you to promise you won't go on board the other ship unless Lord Tenchi says that it's safe."

"It's a deal!" Sasami's eyes lit up. "Come on, Mihoshi! Time for the Galaxy Police to fly!"

"Right!" Mihoshi turned, and the two began to dash for the door.

"Oh, Sasami--!" Ryoko called.

"Yes?" Sasami came to a halt.

"Can we have our spaceship first?" Washu pointed at the cabbit riding on Sasami's head.

"Oops. Right."

--------

Ayeka stood by the edge of the lake, watching the two spaceships dwindle into the sky. To her two guardians, who stood to either side, it was clear that melancholy hung over her.

"Please do not be so sad, princess." Azaka cajoled.

"They will be back in a matter of hours." Kamidake pointed out.

"Oh, I hope so." Ayeka said. "I was never this worried before, even when we went to rescue Ryoko from Kagato."

"Surely the danger is not as great this time." said Azaka.

"And Princess Sasami will be protected by Yukinojo." Kamidake reassured.

"I'm sure you're right." Ayeka sighed. "But Lord Tenchi and the others will still be in danger, and I can't do anything to protect them."

"We appreciate your feelings." Azaka soothed.

"We too have been concerned for your safety at times when we could not be nearby." Kamidake pointed out.

"But we must accept that we cannot overly restrict your life." Azaka summed up.

"You're right, of course." Ayeka nodded. "Still, I wish I knew what they going to find out there."

( To Be Continued . . . )

Author's note: The details of Ryoko's creation by Washu in this chapter are my own guess entirely. Note, however, that in OVA episode 6, Ryoko says she has been alone since she was born, and then wonders if she was truly born.


	6. Annoyance in the Asteroids

Disclaimer: Characters and concepts from "Tenchi Muyo!" were created by Kajishima Masaki and Hitoshi Okuda, and are Copyright AIC and Pioneer LDC. This work is a parody and not to be used for any commercial purposes.

**Tree and Infancy, Chapter 6**

"Okay, we're approaching the asteroid belt." Mihoshi announced. "I'm throttling back for a quiet approach."

Sasami leaned forward in her chair. Just to make sure, she touched the ribbon that ran around the back of her head and secured Ayeka's tiara. "I'm trying to zoom in near their last known coordinates." Sasami worked the controls for the holo-screen as she had been hastily instructed by Mihoshi. After a few anxious moments, a fuzzy blip showed up on her screen. "Aha! There's an energy reading from a power-plant on standby."

"Good work!" Mihoshi lightly nudged the steering control, and brought their course on track for the unknown vessel.

"Miss Mihoshi?" The part of Yukinojo that looked like a metal face came forward on the extending arm. "Shouldn't we let the others on Ryo-Ohki know?"

"Oh, they'll follow us." Mihoshi said without a hint of concern. "I don't want to alert the other ship with a transmission."

"Too late--they've seen us!" Sasami announced as the blip on the holo-screen began to move.

"Yukinojo, transmit this!" Mihoshi cleared her throat. "Attention, unidentified vessel: this is Detective First Class Kuramitsu of the Galaxy Police. You are not authorized to be in this area. Come to a full stop and prepare to be inspected."

There was a pause, and then the overhead speaker crackled to life. "Galaxy Police, this matter does not concern you. You are advised for your own safety to leave the area."

"The nerve!" Mihoshi said out loud. "I am the officer assigned to patrol this sector," she announced into the communications channel, "you are going to be inspected!"

A yellow beam shot out from the other ship, narrowly missing Yukinojo. Mihoshi hit the throttle and went into evasive maneuvers.

"I don't think they want to be inspected!" said Sasami as she was pushed back into her seat.

"Attention hostile vessel! Firing on the Galaxy Police is a serious offense," shouted Mihoshi, "and if you hit my ship, you'll really be in trouble! "

"THEY'LL be in trouble??" Sasami exclaimed. Between the fright of her first time under fire, and nausea from Mihoshi's maneuvers, she decided that combat wasn't nearly as much fun as Ryoko made it seem.

Another holo-screen popped up, displaying Washu's face. "Mihoshi! I've determined what that thing is on the underside of their ship. It's a plasma cannon, powerful enough that they have to fix it in place and aim it by rotating the entire ship! Whatever you do, don't get directly in front of them!"

At this point, communications got complicated. Washu reconstructed the recordings later, deleting the expletives, which was quite a job since every third word or so had been an obscenity or blasphemy. While Sasami expressed her dismay over the plasma cannon, the voice on the enemy ship demanded to know who was spilling their secrets. A second voice interrupted, saying excitedly that he had spotted the vicious pirate ship Ryo-Ohki. The first voice directed the second not to alarm the rest of the crew and to have his obviously defective eyesight checked, since Ryo-Ohki had been destroyed on a raid of Jurai seven centuries before. Ryoko then spoke up, declaring that statement to be a baseless rumor. However, she received no notice from the other ship, where the second voice was insisting that Ryo-Ohki was indeed present as shown by the eye-catching but tasteless projections from the diagrams in "Ohrmudd's Compendium of Fighting Spaceships". This opinion brought an indignant howl from Ryo-Ohki herself. The first man then made a potentially painful suggestion as to what the second man could do with his copy of "Ohrmudd's Compendium of Fighting Spaceships".

At the same time, Washu stated that Ryo-Ohki was an elegantly designed spaceship, and that the men of the other ship wouldn't know good taste if it bit them on their collective posterior, which Ryo-Ohki was capable of doing. Mihoshi strongly seconded Washu's opinion, adding that these were the rudest space pirates she had ever encountered. The first man had then informed Mihoshi that she was in error, they were smugglers who provided what other people wanted rather than pirates who stole what didn't belong to them. While the second smuggler was questioning the wisdom of providing this information to the Galaxy Police, Ryoko vehemently countered that space pirates were open and honest about what they did, while smugglers sneaked around, and made an unflattering comparison to rodents. This time she was heard, and the second smuggler, with a remarkable mix of satisfaction and panic, announced that they were indeed facing the merciless Ryo-Ohki and the rapacious demoness Ryoko. This brought growls of rage from both those individuals. The first smuggler instructed him to be silent, declaring that no seven-century old relics or bumbling policewoman was going to catch them. Mihoshi forcefully disagreed, saying that she was in fact going to arrest them, so there. Ryoko gave her own take, which was that strictly speaking Mihoshi would not arrest them, because she, Ryoko, intended to blow them out of existence.

By this time primary weapons were being powered up on all sides, and Tenchi made an impassioned appeal for calm to be restored, and for that part of the Solar System not to be turned into Armageddon. He was promptly shouted down by everyone within reception range except Sasami, with several promises that their opponents would, by various deities, get what was coming to them.

Ryo-Ohki fired first, with a low-powered but rapid salvo of beams to get the range. All of them were deflected by the smuggler's force-shield. The other ship answered with two of the yellow beams it had used against Mihoshi's shuttle, but Ryo-Ohki evaded smartly. The enemy ship turned in pursuit of Ryo-Ohki, obviously trying to get the plasma cannon to bear. Aware of this, Ryoko veered Ryo-Ohki behind an asteroid. The plasma cannon fired anyway, with a thunderous burst of static on everyone's intercoms. There was a brilliant flash, and the entire asteroid was blown to fragments. Several of the pieces struck Ryo-Ohki, sending the cabbit-ship into a spin.

Tenchi was sent flying across the bridge. Ryoko teleported, catching him in mid-air. "I've saved you, Tenchi! Don't I deserve a--" But just at that moment, her head hit one of the red floating crystals. Her voice changed in an instant from romantic to sulphurous as she yelled out profanities.

"Serves you right for not focusing on the combat," Washu announced. "Come on, Ryo-Ohki, we can't let Mihoshi do the fighting alone." Her fingers jabbed at the controls, and the view-screen showed their course straightening out.

In the meantime, Mihoshi's shuttle had started its own salvo of energy beams. Sasami groaned in disappointment as the smugglers' shields held. The other ship answered with its secondary weapons, and Mihoshi was hard put to keep evading. Luckily, the smugglers couldn't turn fast enough to lock the plasma cannon on to the shuttle.

Washu glanced at a secondary display. "Thirty-four percent power on the primary, Ryo-Ohki. That should disable their shield."

"You're just going to take down their shield??" demanded Ryoko. "We should blow them to molecules!"

"No, we can't!" Tenchi protested. "They're still--well, people, whatever planet they're from."

"They're trying to blast us, aren't they?" Ryoko argued.

"But we don't know what they're smuggling yet," Washu pointed out. "It might be valuable, after all."

"Thirty-four percent power, Ryo-Ohki!" Ryoko said. "Fire!"

A searing flare of red came from the point on Ryo-Ohki's underside. It went unerringly towards the enemy vessel. There was a moment when the shield glowed brightly, then a shower of sparks.

"It's down!" Ryoko shouted, as a meter on Ryo-Ohki's display panel dropped to zero.

"Okay!" rapped out Washu. "I'll pilot Ryo-Ohki on a close pass to that ship. Ryoko, you teleport outside and take care of the plasma cannon while we dodge away. Then we'll circle back and Tenchi and you can both get inside."

"Gotcha!" said Ryoko. She flew over to the side of the bridge. Reaching up to her ear, she plucked her copy gem from its earring and placed it in her right wrist. "Ready!" she announced.

"Full maneuvering power, Ryo-Ohki." Washu sat down at the controls. "Brace yourself, Tenchi! Here we . . . uhhh, never mind."

All three stared at the view-screen, where Mihoshi's shuttle was now sticking out of the underside of the smuggler's ship. The shuttle's nose had smashed squarely into the plasma cannon.

"Damn!" Ryoko clenched her fist. "I was supposed to wreck that thing!"

"Arrrghh!" Washu pulled her hair in frustration. "Why doesn't any plan ever work out when Mihoshi's involved?"

"Umm . . . isn't destroying the plasma cannon a good thing?" Tenchi said.

"Well, technically, I guess so," Washu still sounded displeased.

"But now Mihoshi will go on board that ship and try to arrest the entire crew." Ryoko pointed out.

"You're right!" Tenchi turned, suddenly impatient. "Washu, hurry and get us there! We have to help Mihoshi!"

On board the GP shuttle, Mihoshi was indeed eager to do her duty. "Hey! Even better than the landing on Dr. Clay's ship! Don't you think so?"

"Alive . . . we're alive . . " Sasami moaned.

"Ooooh . . . every inductor I have hurts." Yukinojo complained.

"Come on, you guys," Mihoshi had changed into her skin-tight combat outfit, "we have smugglers to catch!"

Sasami shook her head, partly to decline Mihoshi's invitation, and partly to clear it. "I promised Ayeka I wouldn't go on the other ship until Tenchi said so."

"I'm kind of stuck here too, remember?" Yukinojo reminded the GP detective.

"Oh, yeah." Mihoshi paused for a moment, then picked up her blaster rifle with a determined air. "Yukinojo, find a hatch and extend the boarding tube. Sasami, you're in charge of the shuttle until I return."

"I really think you should wait for--" Sasami began, but Mihoshi had left the bridge before she could complete her thought. A few moments later, a holo-screen popped up with Washu's face in the center.

"Sasami! Has Mihoshi already boarded the smuggler ship?" Washu asked.

"She's just going on board now," Sasami answered.

"I thought so. We're going to make a pass so Tenchi and Ryoko can join her. Keep this channel open, and get ready to move the shuttle away if you need to, but right now I think you're screened from the smuggler's secondaries."

"Right." Sasami turned towards Yukinojo. "Give me a view of Ryo-Ohki!"

Yet another holo-screen opened, showing a segment of space with the oncoming cabbit-battleship. Ryo-Ohki zoomed past, the beams from the smuggler ship reaching out but not hitting her. A crystal like a tear-drop fell from Ryo-Ohki's side and stuck into the enemy ship's hull about a hundred meters away from the shuttle.

Inside the crystal, Ryoko exclaimed "Perfect landing!"

"Yes, but how do we get inside from here?" asked Tenchi.

"Take my hand," Ryoko said in her best throaty seductive voice, "and leave the rest to me."

Nervously, Tenchi did as he was instructed. Ryoko phased them both through the walls of the crystal, and through the hull of the enemy ship. Touching down on the floor of a corridor, she turned to him with a wink, and inquired, "How's that?"

"I'm impressed, Ryoko." He said sincerely. "I'd forgotten you could do that with others."

"It's easier to phase living matter." Ryoko explained. "I guess because it's already in flux. But I'm afraid I don't have any tricks for finding where Mihoshi's gotten to."

From a bend around the corner came a thump, and then the noise of several metal containers falling in a heap. "Oopsie." Came Mihoshi's voce.

"There she is!" Tenchi dashed forward. "Mihoshi! It's me and Ryoko! Have you found any of the smugglers yet?"

"Hi, Tenchi!" Mihoshi smiled as Tenchi and Ryoko came around the corner. "No, so far I've just found cargo compartments full of containers like these." She pointed to the heap of containers next to her.

"What's in them?" Ryoko asked.

"I don't know. They're sealed shut." Mihoshi replied.

"Easy enough to find out." Ryoko phased an arm into the closest container. "Ahh--blaster pistols! These guys must be arms smugglers." She thought for a moment. "That means they've probably got the latest blasters for their own personal weapons, so watch yourselves. The bridge is probably in the center of the ship. Let's keep going this way."

Tenchi was reminded of the time aboard Dr. Clay's ship as the three ran down the corridor, looking for the way to the ship's bridge. This time, however, there was little choice. The corridor ended in a large door.

Ryoko needed only a glance at the locking mechanism to figure it out. "Here we go." She said, and threw the door open. Beyond was a large cargo storage area, with stacks of containers either strapped to the floor or on shelves. But far more importantly, the chamber was also occupied by at least two dozen hover-robots, with their blasters pointing at the doorway. "_Ambush!_" Ryoko shouted, and dived to cover Tenchi.

The robots opened fire, and a barrage of energy-bolts came at the trio. Most of them passed over Ryoko and Tenchi, who were ducking even as the robots had started shooting. But it was nearly inevitable that one shot would find a mark, and it did. Ryoko gave a cry as her right hand was blown off.

"Ryoko!!" Tenchi yelled, and light glowed on his forehead.

Mihoshi stumbled backward, trying to evade, and her blaster-rifle went off as she fell over. Somehow, the shot hit a barrel which burst in a cloud of smoke, blinding most of the robots. Ryoko scrabbled around on the floor with her left hand, found the copy gem, and tossed it through the doorway into the cargo chamber. The Light Hawk wings flared into existence, and the next moment the gem exploded, taking three robots with it. But it was clear that they had only won a few moments' grace.

"Can you move, Ryoko?" Tenchi asked anxiously.

"Yes!" Ryoko's face had lost none of its determination. "Time for a temporary retreat."

The three picked themselves up with remarkable speed, and began running back down the corridor. Tenchi took the rear to cover the two women with his shield. They reached a corner, and dashed around it. Mihoshi took up a position to cover the corridor behind them with her blaster rifle, while Ryoko busied herself regenerating her hand.

Several robots appeared out of the smoke, and Mihoshi picked off two of them before the rest retreated. "Whew!" said Tenchi. "We were in real trouble for a moment—"

The ship seemed to give a lurch, and then Tenchi and Mihoshi found themselves floating in mid-air. "I think we still are!" Mihoshi yelled.

--------

"Sasami!" Washu spoke urgently from the holo-screen. "We've got trouble! Ryoko's been wounded, and they're turning off the artificial gravity so Tenchi and Mihoshi can't fight as well. I need you to fire your main propulsion to accelerate the smuggler's ship, and create gravity on board. Then I'll try to get in there and hack into their defensive systems."

"Okay!" Sasami quickly sat down at the controls. "Yukinojo, make sure the main engines are at full power!" The whine of the shuttle's powerplant started to build. Gingerly at first, Sasami pushed the throttle forward. The shuttle and the smuggler's ship began to move, but there was a shuddering sound as the shuttle started to tip.

"Princess, we're not centered!" Yukinojo called. "Can you use the maneuvering thrusters?"

"I think so!" Sasami answered. She grabbed the joystick she had seen Mihoshi use with her free hand. After a few anxious moments, her mastery of video games came to the rescue, and she had the shuttle back into alignment. She advanced the main throttle more confidently, and was rewarded with acceleration that pushed her against the back of her seat. "Good luck, brother Tenchi." She said aloud.

( To Be Continued . . . )


	7. Hostilites and Hospitality

Disclaimer: Characters and concepts from "Tenchi Muyo!" were created by Kajishima Masaki and Hitoshi Okuda, and are Copyright AIC and Pioneer LDC. This work is a parody and not to be used for any commercial purposes.

**Tree and Infancy, Chapter 7**

Inside the enemy ship, Tenchi and Mihoshi found their footing again. (Actually, Tenchi landed, and then caught Mihoshi as the G.P. detective was about to plant her face on the flooring.) Ryoko started to get annoyed, but Tenchi turned to her and asked, "Is your hand ready?"

"All set, Tenchi." Ryoko smiled at his concern. "After all, it wouldn't be a serious battle if I didn't lose one." Her eyes widened as she sensed something. "Heads up, we're going to have company."

"Hello, gang!" Washu announced as she teleported in. "I heard you could use a little help."

"Party-crasher." Ryoko said. "Say, just how did you find us so easily?"

"Oh, I gave you a transponder when I did your check-up five months ago." Washu said cheerily.

"When this is over, I want it out." Ryoko said, blasting a robot which had come around the corner.

"We'll discuss that later." Washu's holo-keyboard appeared. "Hmm . . . there's the synchronization channel for the internal defenses. I won't be able to completely shut down the robots, but I can make them go to individual control, so they can't coordinate."

"That's great, Washu." Tenchi's thanks was heartfelt.

"The way to the bridge is on the opposite side of that large chamber." Washu frowned. "Uh-oh. They're sending some of the robots outside the ship to attack the shuttle. I'll have to warn Sasami to back the shuttle off. Watch out for changes in gravity."

"Right." Now Ryoko was all business. "Mihoshi, let's fire a burst down the corridor, then we charge. I'll fly close to the ceiling to give you and Tenchi room." Mihoshi and Tenchi nodded. "Here we go!"

Mihoshi and Ryoko leaned around the corner. A barrage of beams came from Ryoko's hand and Mihoshi's blaster-rifle, catching two of the robots with satisfying explosions. A heartbeat later, Ryoko, Tenchi, and Mihoshi were going down the corridor like a three-person cavalry charge, with Tenchi's energy-sword leading the way. Washu listened to the sounds of combat diminish in the distance with an expression looking much like motherly pride. Then she turned back to her holo-keyboard. Still a couple of important details to be taken care of.

--------

Washu's face appeared on the holo-screen in front of Sasami. "Great job with the shuttle's thrusters, Sasami! But I'm afraid you're going to have to disengage soon." The redhead explained about the robots coming to attack the shuttle. "And be careful: when you're moving away, the smugglers will probably try to rotate their ship so they can fire at you with the guns that are still working."

"I understand." Sasami turned to the head of Yukinojo. "Get ready to fire our own weapons, but on low power so we don't penetrate the smugglers' hull. That should kick up enough of a cloud to cover our move."

"Good thought." Washu approved. "Okay, I'm going to let Ryoko know when you shut down your forward drive." She busied herself with her holo-keyboard, gathering more information. "The robots are just starting to open the outer airlock. Get ready for my signal . . . three--two--one--now!"

Sasami pulled back the main throttle to zero with one hand, and triggered the maneuvering thrusters with the joystick. There was a faint screech of bent metal, and the shuttle moved away from the remains of the plasma cannon. "Fire, Yukinojo!" Sasami called. A quick burst of energy came from the shuttle's nose, and the surface of the enemy ship erupted with a cloud of gas. Sasami made sure to keep the maneuvering thrusters going until the other ship began to dwindle in the view-screen. "Okay, Washu, I think we're clear!"

"Nice work, Sasami!" Washu answered. "The robots that were going after you are being pulled back, but they have to go one by one with the synchronization offline. Oh, good--Tenchi, Ryoko, and Mihoshi have reached the door to the bridge. Ryoko is holding Tenchi in place while he cuts through with the Tenchi-ken."

"Couldn't she just use her own energy-sword?" Sasami pointed out.

"She says this way works better." Washu gave a wink. "Oh, in the meantime, you'd better keep watch for other ships. The smugglers have sent out some kind of signal. I think it's a warning that the Galaxy Police is here, but it might be a call for reinforcements."

--------

On the bridge of the smugglers' ship, Tenchi's efforts to cut his way in had been noticed. Two of the crew were floating furniture to barricade the doorway, while the captain watched.

"Everyone ready?" The captain's voice did not seem to care greatly if any of his crew were not ready. "Gravity on!"

The navigator threw the switch on his console, and the improvised barricade fell into place. The tip of Tenchi's sword disappeared from the hole it had been cutting, and an oath in a low female voice could be faintly heard.

"That'll only buy us a few moments, sir." The first mate pointed out. "If they can fight their way through the hover-bots, we won't be a match for them."

"True enough." The captain strode grimly to the control panel beside his command chair. "But it will give me the few moments I need to engage the self-destruct. We won't be taken alive!"

"And why not!?" demanded the first mate.

"Yes, taken alive works pretty well for me, sir." The communications officer chimed in.

"Are you cowards thinking of mutiny?" thundered the captain.

"The ship's articles clearly say that a two-thirds majority of the crew must agree to destroy the ship!" The first mate's voice was just as loud. "You can't do this!"

"Watch me!" shouted the captain. He turned to the control panel and began punching in a code.

"No!" several voices cried. The entire bridge crew began a rush towards the captain. But they were too late. The nearest man was still two steps away when the captain gave a cry of triumph and brought his finger down on the marked place on the panel. Everyone froze as the main view-screen turned black.

And then an animated image of Washu's face appeared on the screen, and gave an exceptionally loud raspberry.

Eight seconds later, the barricade in front of the bridge doors was blown to fragments by Ryoko's energy beam. Ryoko zoomed in through the upper doorway, while Tenchi and Mihoshi dashed through and took up ready positions to the left and right. They were ready for any attack. But they weren't ready to be totally ignored, and that was what happened. After a moment, Tenchi and Ryoko's energy-swords flickered out, and Mihoshi's blaster-rifle lowered. The three blinked in astonishment, but the sight before them remained the same. The captain was down on the bridge deck, with three of the bridge crew beating him energetically. The remainder of the crew stood in line behind them.

"Umm . . . if I could have your attention, please . . ." Mihoshi spoke up. "I really need to read you your rights now."

"In a minute!" snapped the navigator, who hadn't had his turn yet.

--------

On board the shuttle, Sasami noticed a new point of light on the wide-angle holo-screen. "Yukinojo, scan that point." She requested. "Is there another enemy ship?"

"Scanning as ordered." Yukinojo announced. There was a moment's pause. "I confirm there is an unknown spaceship approaching. It has no identification beacon."

"Could it be reinforcements for the smugglers?" Sasami's voice was anxious.

"Possibly. But the energy signatures are not similar." Yukinojo blinked, gathering more data. "The readings resemble a Juraian ship."

"We have to warn them! Get ready to transmit, Yukinojo!" Sasami collected her thoughts, then announced, "Attention, approaching vessel: this is the Galaxy Police. We are in the middle of an arrest. Please stay clear until the area is safe."

"Sasami--is that you?" Came an answering voice. Another holo-screen popped up. The face displayed was almost identical to Ryoko's, except for twin scars than ran down the woman's cheeks.

"Minagi!" Sasami sat bolt upright, instantly changing from worried to elated. "It's wonderful to see you again!"

"Minagi??" Yukinojo echoed, a much less pleased tone in his voice. "The notorious space pirate?"

"Yukinojo, be polite!" Sasami admonished. "Minagi's a good space pirate!"

"The Galaxy Police doesn't acknowledge 'good' space pirates," Yukinojo said huffily. "She's still a pirate in the eyes of the law."

"That's an awfully strict attitude, Yukinojo." Minagi said.

"Strict?" Yukinojo bristled. "What about the time you shot Mihoshi and me down and forced us to crash-land?"

"Well, I don't know it was you," Minagi said reasonably, "and I said I was sorry, didn't I? Anyway, did you join the Galaxy Police, Sasami?"

"Not exactly," Sasami said, "but Mihoshi left me in charge while she boards the smugglers' ship with Washu, Ryoko, and Tenchi."

"Smugglers? Not the Toyosawa Smugglers Guild, by any chance?" Minagi inquired.

"Toyosawa? Doesn't that mean 'abundant swamp'?"

"That's right." Minagi's image on the holo-screen nodded. "They got their start on a marsh planet. They're kind of sensitive about that."

"These guys are sensitive about a lot of things." Sasami said.

"It's the Toyosawa Guild, then. I've had a good deal of trouble with them lately." Minagi shook her head. "And it's not like I make much from hijacking their cargoes."

Sasami snapped her fingers. "You must be who they were trying to ambush!"

"That would be just like them--they're such poor losers." Minagi furrowed her brow for a moment. "Did you say Tenchi and Ryoko are there? What about Ayeka? And isn't that her tiara you're wearing?"

"That's a long story." Sasami replied. "Why don't you come aboard, and I'll make us some tea, and tell you about it?"

"I'd be happy to!" Minagi smiled.

"On board? A space pirate??" Yukinojo burst out. "We should be arresting her!"

"Yukinojo! You'll make her feel unwelcome." Sasami reproved. "Now, where does Mihoshi keep the tea?"

"The number three cabinet on the lower deck," sighed the robot. "Oh, I'm going to be so disgraced . . ."

--------

There were many details to be taken care of on board the Toyosawa ship. Eventually, all the bridge crew plus two smugglers hiding elsewhere in the ship were secured in a brig improvised by Ryoko bending a metal plate over a cargo bay hatch, and the victorious quartet headed the vessel towards Mihoshi's main ship in orbit around Saturn. While Washu sorted through the cargo manifest (and snorted at how primitive most of the weapons were), Mihoshi sent out a call to the Galaxy Police for a squad to bring the captured ship and crew to the nearest G.P. station. On board the shuttle, Minagi took this as her cue to leave. Sasami sniffled a bit, but said she understood. With Yukinojo's help, the young princess headed the shuttle to rendezvous with the others.

A Galaxy Police cruiser showed up almost immediately (Ryoko commented that they probably had a ship on "Mihoshi Alert" all the time). But Mihoshi decided that she needed to stay and fill out a full report. Knowing that this would take her at least a day, and more likely two or three, the others went back aboard Ryo-Ohki for their return to Earth and the Masaki house. Although Tenchi pointed out that his grandfather was back at home, Sasami cajoled Ryo-Ohki to fly exceptionally fast so that Ayeka wouldn't be lonely for too long. And indeed, it was still twilight when the figures of Ryoko, Washu, Sasami, and Tenchi appeared on the dock.

Ayeka came out of the house to meet them. "Welcome home, everyone." She came to a halt and gave as dignified a bow as her child-size body could manage. "Sasami, I am very proud of how well you did with the shuttle."

There was a loud "myaa" from overhead as Ryo-Ohki dwindled down to her cabbit form, then landed on the dock.

"But how did you know?" asked Sasami.

"I have a surprise for you," Ayeka said, and moved to one side.

"Hello again, everybody!" Minagi stepped out of the sliding door.

"Minagi!" Sasami shouted in delight as she raced forward.

"Well, since Mihoshi had to stay in space and take care of all the loose ends," Minagi gave Sasami a hug, "I figured I'd come here as I was first planning to. Don't worry, Hinase's hidden safely in the lake."

"But this means . . ." Washu began.

"There is no choice but to . . ." Ryoko continued.

"HAVE A SAKE AND KARAOKE PARTY!" Minagi, Ryoko and Washu shouted together.

"Ohboy . . ." Tenchi, Ayeka, and Sasami sighed together.

( To Be Continued . . . )

Author's note: Strictly speaking, Washu should not have had her image blow a raspberry. The common Japanese expression of derision is the "_akanbe_": saying "_be-da_!", pulling down a lower eyelid with an index finger, and sticking out the tongue. Since a gag that has to be explained isn't nearly as funny, I decided to use the American expression. My apologies for the inconsistency.


	8. Two Visitors

Disclaimer: Characters and concepts from "Tenchi Muyo!" were created by Kajishima Masaki and Hitoshi Okuda, and are Copyright AIC and Pioneer LDC. This work is a parody and not to be used for any commercial purposes.

**Tree and Infancy, Chapter 8**

Dinner was a much faster affair than usual. Washu retrieved the dishes that Sasami had been working on, and it took only a few minutes to get everything ready. For once there was no shortage of willing hands, even when Washu disappeared into her lab to get the karaoke equipment ready. She re-appeared ten minutes later, just in time to join everyone at the table.

Conversation during the meal was lively as the rest of the group filled in Ayeka and Minagi with the details of the fighting aboard the Toyosawa ship. Ryoko made sure to mention how she had lost a hand saving Tenchi. Ayeka and Sasami both looked concerned, but Minagi looked less impressed.

Clean-up after the meal went equally quickly. Tenchi brought the dishes into the kitchen, barely keeping up as Sasami washed with her usual speed. Ryoko, however, fell even further behind with drying, since she had to be careful not to shatter the dishes by using too much of her strength. In a few minutes she found herself alone in the kitchen as Sasami and Tenchi finished their parts and went to collect their favorite karaoke disks. And then Ryoko had the distinct feeling of 'deja vu'. A series of familiar thumps sounded from the living room. Having a good idea what she would find this time, she teleported out of the kitchen, materializing just in time to catch the pint-sized Ayeka on an upward bounce.

But when Ryoko glanced downward, she saw that the princess had not been jumping on a cushion, but on a karaoke disk, now broken in pieces. "Ayeka, what in space are you up to?" Ryoko demanded.

"I'm getting rid of that vile song!" Ayeka struggled in Ryoko's grasp for a moment, but she might as well have been pushing against an alloy steel bar.

Ryoko spotted the fragment of the disk with the label. "'Call Me Princess?' It sounds like just your kind of song to me."

"It is absolutely not!" Ayeka's voice went up a notch.

"What are you two up to now?" came Washu's voice. The redheaded genius leaned out of the doorway to her lab. "Hey -- Ryoko, did you smash my song disk?"

"_Your_ song disk?" demanded Ayeka. "So you are the one who brought this trash into Lord Tenchi's house?"

"Trash?" Ryoko echoed. Her eyes narrowed as she noticed that Washu seemed to be wearing a tight black outfit with several cut-aways instead of her usual clothes. Ryoko strongly disapproved of suggestive displays in front of Tenchi when she wasn't the one doing the displaying. "Just what kind of song is 'Call Me Princess', anyway?"

"Never mind!" said Washu and Ayeka together. Washu swiftly retreated through the doorway.

Ryoko frowned for a moment, then set Ayeka down. "I'm going to assume you did a good thing this time," she said.

"You're welcome." Ayeka answered. "I guess this is why Washu stopped her experiments with coffee makers."

"No," Ryoko looked thoughtful, "it must be something a lot bigger to take that much of her time. I'd make her promise not to do anything drastic during your next exam, if I were you."

"Thank you for the advice. Ah . . . I hope I didn't hurt your new hand when I was trying to get loose."

"Oh, it's as good as it ever was," said Ryoko.

"I'm glad." Ayeka nodded. "I wish I could have been there to help."

"That's okay," Ryoko said lightly. "We managed."

Ayeka turned away to hide her expression. Ryoko started to go, but paused in the doorway. She stood there for several moments, then looked back.

"Ayeka?"

"Yes?" Ayeka raised her head again.

"It's still a chore having to create a new copy gem. It would have been good to have you there."

"Thank you, Ryoko." Ayeka turned thoughtful. "I wish I could help you with a new gem . . . could Washu make you one?"

"Plant a Washu special in my wrist?" Ryoko chuckled. "I'd rather stuff gunpowder in there. Anyway, it's a bit like the skydivers on this planet preferring to pack their own parachutes."

"Oh." Ayeka hesitated for a moment, then spoke again. "By the way, it seems quite a stroke of luck that Minagi was going to stop by right when Mihoshi had left to send her report."

"Yes, well, pirates have to be good at sifting rumors and scuttlebutt, you know," Ryoko said evasively.

"Even better for pirates is when they get inside sources." Ayeka looked squarely at Ryoko. Whatever might have happened to her height or her hair, the old Ayeka was behind those ruby-red eyes.

"Ahh. . ." Ryoko sweatdropped. "It's just that Sasami and Minagi enjoy seeing each other so much . . . and Minagi is kind of my sister. . ."

"I guess the Toyosawa must have managed to intercept your message," said Ayeka. "But you know, since Minagi has a mix of your DNA and Yakage's, you're more Minagi's mother than her sister."

"No way." Ryoko did not like the idea of being a mother without Tenchi being involved. "Would you like to tell Washu she's a granny?"

"On the other hand," said Ayeka, "sisterhood is a wonderful thing."

--------

Once again, Ayeka found herself looking enviously at the hearty quantity of saké being consumed by the larger girls. Sasami had made sure there was plenty of tea and fruit juice for herself and her sister, but Ayeka couldn't help longing for something stronger. With so many people in the room, she knew she'd be caught if she tried to sneak some, and it helped that Tenchi was also abstaining. For once, Minagi was on hand to prevent Ryoko from forcing saké onto Tenchi, which gave Ayeka a small measure of satisfaction. Still, she couldn't help pangs of jealousy when she saw Washu, Ryoko, and even Minagi downing the saké with lip-smacking enjoyment.

More by accident than design, the karaoke party acquired an 'oldies' theme. Minagi, as the guest of honor, went first with a well-delivered rendition of "My Heart Belongs to Daddy". Sasami followed with a Shirley Temple impression, doing a cleverly modified song, "How Much is That Cabbit in the Window", and got a generous round of applause. Ayeka followed Sasami's idea with an impression of the young Judy Garland, singing "You Made Me Love You", and making frequent eye contact with Tenchi. Most of the audience applauded, but Ryoko fumed. Next was the ex-space-pirate's turn, and she performed a version of "That's The Way I Like It" that had Tenchi squirming nervously in his seat.

Washu, changed into outfit like her usual style, tried to do a take-off on a Beach Boys classic with a number she called, "I Wish They All Could Be Lab-Created Girls". But she was roundly booed, most of all by Ryoko, so she switched to "She Blinded Me With Science". Tenchi riposted by doing an Elvis impression, singing "Never Say Yes". Minagi and Sasami cheered, while Washu looked amused, but both Ryoko and Ayeka looked doubtful.

As a finale before the younger girls' bedtime, Sasami, Ayeka, Minagi, and Ryoko brought down the house with a quartet of the Pointer Sisters' "We Are Family". Then Washu and Tenchi announced it was time for both Ayeka and Sasami to go upstairs.

"Can't we stay up a little--" Ayeka began, then clapped her hands over her own mouth.

"Now you know how I feel." Sasami smiled.

"Don't worry, Ayeka," said Minagi, " I promise the house will still be standing in the morning."

The two blue-haired princesses climbed the stairs, a little more slowly than they could have. They went down the hall to their room, but paused in the doorway for a few moments as the sounds of Ryoko and Minagi attempting to sing "A Pirate's Life For Me" could still be heard.

"It goes 'Yo-Ho, Yo-Ho', _not_ 'Yo-sho must go', and you know it!" came Minagi's voice.

"You sing it your way, I'll sing it mine." came Ryoko's answer.

"It's supposed to be a duet, Ryoko--!"

Ayeka and Sasami smiled at each other, and closed the bedroom door behind them. Final preparations for bed took only a few minutes, since by now each had practiced helping the other with coiling up their hair and putting it in the cloth covers they used at night. After a quick change into pajamas, the two slid under the sheets and blankets of their futons.

"Have you had any more of those dreams, Sasami?" Ayeka asked with the note of someone trying a last chance.

"No, Ayeka. I'm sorry." Sasami said after a moment.

"You know, when Mihoshi turns in her report, everyone is going to know what's happened to me."

Sasami nodded. "She does include every embarrassing detail, doesn't she?"

"I guess it's just as well." Ayeka wiped away a tear, and tried to keep her voice steady. "I can't really be useful any more, for helping out, or for protecting you and Lord Tenchi, and everyone . . . even Ryoko." She paused. "Isn't it funny? I hate housework as much as Ryoko does, and now I want as much as anything else to be able to do it . . ." Ayeka looked at Sasami with new understanding. "That's how you've always thought, isn't it? It makes you feel that you belong here."

"It does." Sasami reached over to hold her sister's hand. "But you mustn't worry, Ayeka. You'll always belong here."

"Thank you, Sasami." Ayeka settled her small body in her usual position. "I just wish I could belong in my old place." She closed her eyes.

Sasami turned out the light, and closed her eyes also. Neither of them noticed the twin triangles on Sasami's forehead beginning to glow.

--------

Tea and fruit juice may not cause a hangover, but they can fill a bladder just as full. Ayeka awoke before dawn with nature calling, but her brain very reluctant to abandon sleep. The struggle lasted for several moments before a trip to the bathroom won out as the higher priority. Still in a very foggy state of mind, Ayeka staggered upright, went over to the door, and opened it, with her eyes threatening to close again at any moment.

A startled yelp sounded to her left, and she turned to see Tenchi standing in the hallway. At first she could not understand why he was staring at her with eyes open as far as his eyelids would go, and his nose leaking red. Then, when he put his hands to his nose and faced the other direction, she realized that she was not looking up at him, but on the same level. She glanced downward, and the daze of sleep cleared immediately as she saw that her body had returned to adult size, but her pajamas had not. Only a few shreds remained, covering nothing in particular.

An embarrassed shriek echoed through the house, and Ayeka bolted back into her room and slammed the door shut. Her face flamed red for a few moments. Then the positive points of the situation began to occur to her. She could help around the house again. She could drink sake again. She could stand up to Ryoko again. And, even more . . .

"I can give Lord Tenchi a nosebleed again," she sighed happily.

--------

Not surprisingly, Ayeka wanted to check on Ryu-Oh as soon as possible. But it obviously was necessary to put on some clothes first. And just a nightgown wouldn't do for such an occasion. On the other hand, formal robes weren't a good idea either, since she might have to do some work on the plot of soil. Ayeka settled on an outfit like her usual style, but with jeweled embroidery. Then there was the matter of her hair. It would take too long to arrange in her usual style, but it really did need some brushing. Twenty strokes should do--make it thirty. Now, about foundation and mascara . . .

Nonetheless, it was a remarkably quick forty-three minutes later that Ayeka entered Ryu-Oh's unit. There she saw what she had been hoping to see; Ryu-Oh had grown to nearly twice its former height, and there was now a second layer of leaves coming out of the main stem. Ayeka knelt and drank in the sight for a few moments.

There was a sound like a musical tinkling from the small pool behind her, and Ayeka knew even before turning around that Tsunami had appeared.

"Thank you, Lady Tsunami, for helping Ryu-Oh." Ayeka gave a deep bow.

"It is I who owe you thanks, Princess Ayeka." Tsunami replied. "Now I can tell you why Ryu-Oh was not growing. It was because she did not wish to grow."

"Did not wish to?" Ayeka echoed.

"The Royal Trees have wills of their own." Tsunami reminded her. "And Ryu-Oh knew from her bond with you what had happened fighting Ryo-Ohki and the Souja. It is no light matter to become a warship." Tsunami looked grave for a moment. "The Royal Trees are my children, and I would not force any of them to be something they do not want to be. Just as Sasami had to hear your true feelings, so Ryu-Oh had to sense them from you without my interference. You showed her that growing up is worth the dangers and the responsibilities."

"Now I understand." Said Ayeka.

"I look forward to the day Ryu-Oh returns to space." Tsunami waved her finger in a mock warning. "And do try not to fight with Ryo-Ohki any more."

For once, Ayeka was ready. "But, Lady Tsunami -- not even to protect the First Tree again?" she said, putting on her best butter-wouldn't-melt-in-her-mouth expression.

For the first time since the night she had revealed her relationship with Sasami, the goddess was caught off guard. "Ahh . . . well, in that case, I suppose it would be alright." Tsunami disappeared in a shower of twinkling motes of light.

Ayeka couldn't quite suppress a mischievous smile. After Grandmother Seto, dealing with a goddess wasn't so hard.

--------

Ryoko stood in a ready stance. Crackling filaments of energy played up and down the fingers of one hand, then the other, as if she were a dealer shuffling a deck of cards back and forth. Her mouth twisted into a grim smile. "You don't know how I've waited for this, Ayeka."

Ayeka faced her rival across the open ground. Her miniature logs slowly orbited her head. Her expression and her stance did not show as much eagerness as Ryoko's, but no observer would have seen any less determination. "Believe me, Miss Ryoko, it would not have taken so long if it had been up to me."

"Well, the part that's up to me will be real short. I've got just two words for you--" But at that moment Ryoko was interrupted.

"C'mere, Ryoko!" Came a shout from Washu. The cyan-haired woman looked behind her, and her eyes immediately changed from narrowed in anticipation, to widened in alarm. The genius scientist was running directly towards her. On her shoulder she carried a large device that looked much like a very high-tech butterfly net. Ryoko noticed that the net part was wide at the opening, then narrowed down to enclose a space just about the size of a four-year-old girl. "Your turn to have a childhood!" Washu called out.

And the dreaded space pirate Ryoko, once the scourge of the galaxy, leaped behind Ayeka and yelled "HIDE ME!"

T h e E n d


End file.
